Tibetans rally against Chinese crackdown on Kirti Monastery

Dharamsala, Apr 24: A large number of Tibetans in exile took out a protest rally here against the Chinese security crackdown on a Buddhist monastery in eastern Tibet.

Two elderly have died in the security crackdown on Kirti Monastery in Amdo Ngaba, following unrest triggered last month when a young monk set himself on fire and died in an apparent anti-government protest.

Hundreds of Tibetans and their supporters -- monks, nuns, school children and others -- marched from Tsuglakhang temple in Mcleod Ganj to Kachari Square in Lower Dharamsala, demanding global vigilance and arbitration over the heightened Chinese repression in Amdo Ngaba.

According to Dolkar Lhamo Kirit, the president of Tibetan Women's Association, eyewitnesses claim "people had their arms and legs broken, one old woman had her leg broken in three places, and cloth was stuffed in their mouths to stifle their screams." "The brutal clampdown on the monks of Kirti Monastery in particular and the Tibetan people in Tibet in general are deplorable and intolerable" Lukar Jam, vice president of Gu Chu Sum Movement for Tibet, said.

"We urge the United States government to raise this crucial issue during the annual meeting on human rights between the US and China scheduled to be held next week in Beijing," he added.

PTI