Dharamshala — Reports coming out of Tibet say Chinese authorities have detained a Tibetan monk following his protest agains an illegal land grab by Chinese authorities in Sershul County of eastern Tibet.
The source said that the Tibetan monk known as Lobsang Soepa carried a large with writings in Tibetan and Chinese that read, “The grassland in Wonpo township's Village No. 2, in Sershul County should be distributed in accordance with the law." The grassland should be returned to the locals living on the land, without any bias."
The Buddhist monk set up a camping tent in front of local government offices on 10 August and protested against the confiscation of land in Shershul County, Karze region (Ch: Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture “TAP,” Sichuan Province), and its unfair land re-distribution. A similar banner was also seen hanging on his tent which carry same message urging the Chinese authorities to return the grassland to the locals Tibetans.
Chinese policemen arrived at the scene shortly after Soepa's protest and immediately put him in a vehicle and took him away, TPI source said. The current whereabouts and conditions of the monk remain unknown.
The source further said: Soepa has petitioned the concerned authorities of the local government offices several times over the past few years, urging a fair distribution of the grassland to the Tibetans in the area. However, the monk's appeals were ignored by the government. Finally Soepa decided that he had no other choice but to stage a peaceful protest in front of the local government buildings.
This is not the first time that China has responded to any Tibetan resistance against its failed policies with an iron fist. In many parts of Tibet, the issue of illegal land grabs by local Chinese officials has been a continuing source of rising tension.
Over the past several years, local Tibetans were protesting against rampant land grabbing and forceful eviction of Tibetan families from their ancestral homes in many other areas in Tibet.
However, the Chinese authorities keep tight grip on cases of land grabbing in the region and forcefully continued their plans to destroy more homes in many Tibetan areas, to create more land for industries and private ownership in the name of "Building a Middle-class Society" and "Innovation".
Hundreds of Tibetans, including writers, bloggers, activists, singers, health workers and environmentalists, have been detained or are imprisoned since 2008, after attempting to express their views or share news of the situation in Tibet with the outside world, and provides further evidence of a widespread crackdown against Tibetan people.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese repressive rule have continued in the Himalayan region since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with more than 140 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing's repression and call for freedom in Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.