Dharamshala: A Tibetan monk from the south of India, who wishes to remain anonymous, has informed TPI that arrest warrants have been issued for three young men in Zakhog, in Derge County of Kham, eastern Tibet, for allegedly putting up posters with the messages "We want freedom" and "invite the Dalai Lama to Tibet" written on them.
The three men, Tsering Kyipo, 25, Jampa Ngodup, 33, and Lobsang Thupten, 30; each wrote their names on the posters and knowing they would face persecution, subsequently fled into hiding. Arrest warrants for their capture have been issued and Chinese authorities have arrested and detained two family members, Tsering's father Sangpa and Jampa's brother Mochak, neither of whom have any apparent connection to the incident.
Tsering, Jampa and Lobsang were said to have also been participants in the 2008 mass demonstration that swept Tibet calling for freedom of religion and speech in the region, which has been militarily occupied by China since 1949. The families of each of the three men were also fined the sum of 20,000 yuan each.Only last week, Tibetan political prisoner Boluk passed away in a Lhasa hospital after his wounds from Chinese torture became too great. He had been arrested in 2009 after refusing to cooperate with a government mandate, which ordered heads of villages to hunt down monks fleeing a Chinese 're-education' programme being enforced in Kyabchen Monastery of Jomda County in Kham, Tibet.
As a part of the re-education programme in monasteries, every monk and nun is made to give their signature in opposition to the Dalai Lama, as an act of renunciation, and those who refuse face harsh penalties. A month after the system began to be enforced in Kyabchen Monastery, however, officials found it to be empty, as its occupants had all escaped. This prompted security forces to launch a search, and when community leaders and village heads refused to comply a crackdown ensued.
Buluk was detained in Powo Tramo Prison, where even close family members were barred from visiting him. Due to torture his health deteriorated and he became very weak, eventually passing away on March 25 at around 12pm. A candlelight vigil was held for him in the Tibetan exile community of Dharamshala on Friday night.
