The Tibet Post

Dharamshala: On 24 April 2009, before the morning school bell rang 300 students from Sangchu Tibetan middle school, located next to the Labdrang monastery in Sangchu county, eastern Tibet (Chi: Gansu Province), held banners that declared “democracy and freedom are our supporters” and in the schoolyard took a stand against Chinese denunciation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  

Yedor and Yeshe Dorjee, two Tibetans wrote articles about His Holiness, titled “Dalai Lama’s lies and malice” “Dalai Lama no where to run,” the articles were published in Ganlho daily news-paper, which is available both in Tibetan and in Chinese.  Ganho news-paper has been published consecutively for 50 years and articles like these are unprecedented.    

The two Tibetans posted the articles on the blackboard in their school.  Students couldn’t tolerate these articles so they held a peaceful demonstration to show that they do not share the same opinions as the authors.

The students were suppressed by armed Chinese police and security officers, they were rounded up in front of the school and told to go home and bring their parents to the school to attend a government town hall meeting where they had to promise and give their thumb print as insurance that they would not protest against the Chinese government 

On the same day young men and women from Tsu teachers training college and Tsu Tibetan middle school also held a protested against Chinese rule, threats made by Chinese police forced students to stay inside the school building.  The students would not be quelled and protested from within the school’s four walls.

There are 10,000 students who attend Tsu teachers training college, but less then 5% are Tibetans, Tsu middle school is only attended by Tibetans.

The uprising at the teachers college and the middle school sparked elementary school children from grades 4 and 5 to become involved in the demonstration.  On 30 April 2009 students from Tibetan Sangchu county peacefully demonstrated against the denunciation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 13 children were arrested and are still being held.