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back ] TIN News Update / 17 November 1999 / no. of pages: 3 ISSN:1355-3313 Hundreds of Tibetans took to the streets in protest in Kandze (Chinese: Ganzi) county town, Kandze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP), Sichuan province two weeks ago following the arrest of a respected Buddhist teacher and two other Tibetan monks. The arrests may have been linked to the bombing of a small Tibetan medical clinic in a nearby village in early October. At least 300 people are said to have joined the protest, which is unprecedented in recent years and one of the largest in Tibetan areas since the demonstrations in Lhasa in the late 1980s that led to the imposition of martial law. Armed troops reportedly used tear-gas and guns to break up the demonstration, and at least 50 Tibetans were detained. The protest followed various acts of resistance by monks in the area to hardline policies on religion and against the Dalai Lama, according to unofficial reports from the region. Eleven monks from Dargye (known as Dajin in Chinese) monastery, also in Kandze county, were reportedly detained earlier this year after they painted pro-independence slogans on the walls of the monastery. Some monasteries in the prefecture were also said to have submitted a petition to the local authorities asserting their right to continue studying Buddhism rather than attending Patriotic Education sessions, according to an unconfirmed source. The region, which is in the traditional Tibetan area of Kham, is known for being politically restive. The latest incident in Kandze reflects the loyalty among local people to the teacher Sonam Phuntsog, a well-known scholar and Tibetan language teacher in his forties who first studied as a monk at Dargye monastery. Sonam Phuntsog's arrest on 24 October appears to be linked to the authorities' concern over his influence in the area and over his apparent loyalty to the Dalai Lama. Sonam Phuntsog, who is frequently referred to as "Geshe" or "Gen" Sonam Phuntsog, although it is not clear whether he has taken the official Geshe monastic exams, reportedly led prayers for the Dalai Lama earlier this year. His assistant Sonam and another monk, former political prisoner Agyal Tsering, were also arrested. The current whereabouts of the three monks are not known. One unofficial report indicates that they may be being blamed by the authorities for a bombing that took place on 7 October in a village near Kandze town. The bomb reportedly partially destroyed a small building that was in the process of being converted into a medical clinic by a Tibetan doctor who was said to be a devotee of the Shugden deity. The Dalai Lama advised Tibetans not to worship the controversial "protector" deity in 1996. The motives of the bombing are not known, although there has reportedly been some tension between devotees of Shugden in the area and some Tibetans there who are opposed to worship of the deity. Demonstrators dispersed by police The demonstration in Kandze town began when a group of Tibetans gathered outside the detention centre on 31 October to demand the release of the three detainees. Other Tibetans joined them until a crowd of several hundred built up outside the gates of the building. The Tibetans were quickly dispersed by security personnel firing guns into the air; one unofficial report states that tear-gas was also used. It is not known if any Tibetans were injured or killed as a result of the police handling of the demonstration. Security in Kandze has intensified following the demonstration, with military personnel being brought into the town from other areas of the county and, according to an unofficial source, strict restrictions have been imposed on people entering or leaving Kandze town, which has a population of about 20,000. Monks and nuns are said to have been confined to their compounds as security police continue their search for Tibetans who participated in the protests. The detention centre where the protests took place is one of the most notorious in Kham. Political prisoners, including monks, have been held there. In 1990, relatives of three Tibetans suspected of involvement in dissident activities were tortured in an attempt to extract information about the suspects. Two People's Armed Police units are stationed in the town in addition to the Public Security Bureau offices and detention centre. Detention of an important teacher Sonam Phuntsog, who was born in Kandze county, joined Dargye monastery as a novice monk at a young age. At the time of his arrest he had been teaching more than a hundred monks at Dargye monastery for six years. In the 1960s, Sonam Phuntsog taught village children how to read and write during a period of employment as a cattle herder in communes set up by the Communist Party. He helped with the renovation of some monasteries in the prefecture after the Cultural Revolution, when liberalisation in Tibet from 1980 onwards led to a relaxation of religious restrictions. He also taught Tibetan language to monks from more than 30 local monasteries belonging to the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and wrote the histories of 13 of the regionšs monasteries, two of which have been published. "He has become one of the most well-known and revered teachers in the Kandze area, including among cadres working for the government," one Tibetan, who has now left Sichuan, told TIN. "His growing popularity and influence in the area of religion and nationality culture are seen to be the main reasons for his sudden arrest." The relationship between Tibetan Buddhism and nationality issues has been of growing concern to the authorities since the relaxation of restrictions on religious practice in the 1980s. It is perceived as one of the greatest threats to stability and Party control in Tibetan areas. Agyal Tsering, a monk in his forties also from Kandze county who was arrested with Sonam Phuntsog, served a prison sentence of 18 months in the early 1990s after he was suspected of involvement in distributing pro-independence leaflets. Agyal Tsering, who also became a monk at an early age, spent two years in Lhasa during the period of liberalisation in the early 1980s helping to rebuild Ganden monastery, which had been completely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Agyal Tsering studied debating at Labrang monastery in Gansu province for 18 months and also spent time in Qinghai, where he succeeded in raising funds to open a monastery, supported by the tenth Panchen Lama. He visited Kandze in late 1989, and was arrested in March 1990 in Qinghai province on suspicion of involvement in political activities. Agyal Tsering, who is also known as "Ajo", was beaten and tortured during his detention in 1990 in order to extract a confession, according to a reliable source. The detention of Sonam Phuntsog and the subsequent demonstration mirrors two incidents that took place in Lhasa in the late 1980s. On 1 October 1987, National Day of the People's Republic of China, a crowd of more than 2,000 Tibetans gathered outside the police station in the Barkor to demand the release of political prisoners being held there. On 5 March 1988, during a religious procession in the Barkor, monks started shouting for the release of Yulu Dawa Tsering, a Buddhist philosopher and teacher and one of Tibetšs most prominent political prisoners, arrested in 1987 for talking about Tibetan independence to an Italian tourist. (Yulu Dawa Tsering was released in November 1994). On both of these occasions the demonstrations escalated and security forces responded by firing into the crowd, resulting in fatalities. Many Tibetans were taken into detention during the aftermath of these and other demonstrations during this period in Lhasa that culminated in the declaration of Martial Law at midnight on 7 March 1989. Resistance to the authorities in Kandze The recent dissident activity in Kandze, an historically important centre for Tibetan Buddhism, has taken place against a background of increasing religious repression in Sichuan. The Patriotic Education campaign, which appears to have reached monasteries in Kandze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in 1997, has led to increased restrictions on religious practice, attempts to reduce the size of the areašs monasteries and a requirement for monks and nuns to denounce the Dalai Lama - the issue which has triggered the most resistance. Dargye and nearby Kandze Gepheling monastery, located in Kandze county town, are both Gelugpa monasteries known for their staunch support of the Dalai Lama. A Patriotic Education "work team" reportedly arrived at Dargye monastery near Rongbatsa, about 20 km north-west of Kandze county town, in 1997. Their arrival "caused serious disruption to the conduct of normal religious studies and practices", according to a monk from Sichuan who is now in exile. Dargye monastery, which has a history of more than 300 years, was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and rebuilt during the 1980s. The monastery, which housed 3,700 monks in the late 1950s, now has a population of about 200 monks. Monks and laypeople in the area have also been involved in pro-independence protests. On 20 October 1990, Tsering Dorje, a businessman from Kandze, was arrested in Lhasa with his friend, Butrug (also known as Lobsang Tenzin), a monk from Kandze Gepheling monastery. They were sentenced to 12 and 14 years respectively for their involvement in the distribution of pro-independence leaflets in Kandze town and raising the Tibetan flag at the Degopo Lhakhang, a temple attached to Kandze Gepheling monastery. Another friend, Lobsang Tashi was sentenced to four years imprisonment in connection with the same incident. Tsering Dorje later escaped and fled to India. Butrug is still believed to be serving his sentence in Maowen prison. The Tibetan festival, Monlam Chenmo, has reportedly not been held in Kandze since this incident. In March 1996, two monks from Kandze monastery, Pasang Norbu and Norbu Dradul, were arrested and subsequently sentenced to six and three years respectively for putting up wall posters in the monastery declaring support for the Dalai Lamašs choice of Panchen Lama. One unconfirmed report states that two monks were arrested at Kandze Gepheling monastery earlier this year and charged with handing out pro-independence leaflets, following a security crackdown in the local area. Kandze county is known for its political volatility. Although it was initially chosen as the capital of the area, the remoteness and political uncertainty of Kandze, in addition to its lack of modern facilities, meant that Dartsedo (Kangding in Chinese) was selected as the prefectural seat when Kandze TAP was established in 1955. Kandze was one of the strongholds of Khampa resistance during the 1950s and there remains today a strong security presence in and around the county town. According to the CD-Rom Tibet Outside the TAR (TOTAR) by Steven Marshall and Susette Cooke, locals in Kandze town believe that the town has been denied public assistance as punishment for its political past and continued dissident activities. "Kandze has paid for its hostility to the Chinese occupation by official neglect and particularly repressive local security forces," state the authors of TOTAR. "Its defiant cultural stance is the strongest, and only, response it can make under current circumstances. Chinese immigration and commercial development are infiltrating, resource exploitation continues, but Tibetan resistance is stronger here than in many county towns, in a tangible spirit as well as concrete manifestations in architecture, dress and religious expression." Kandze county accounts for 36% of political prisoners detained between 1987 and 1998 either originating from or resident in Kandze TAP, according to the TIN publication "Hostile Elements: A Study of Political Imprisonment in Tibet 1987-1999˛. The other two of Kandze prefecturešs 18 counties that account for a significant proportion of prisoners from the prefecture are Serthar (22%) and Lithang (20%). For a more detailed study of Chinese government policy in Kandze (Ganzi) prefecture, Sichuan province, see the new TIN Briefing Paper No. 33 "Relative Freedom? Tibetan Buddhism and Religious Policy in Kandze, Sichuan, 1987 - 1999". 100pp, due to be published late November 1999. For
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