(TibetanReview.net, Mar 09, 2009) — A bloodbath was avoided in Ngaba County of Sichuan Province on Mar 2 morning after a face-off between a group of hundred young monks of Ngaba Gomang monastery, who were insisting on continuing their march to the town administration, and security forces ended on mediation by some local Tibetan government officials, according to phayul.com Mar 7.
The report cited a witness who phoned Canada-based Khedup Gyatso as saying the monks were chanting slogans like “Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama”, “Free Tibet” and “World Peace” while insisting on continuing their march to the town, located some 13 km from the monastery. It said residents in surrounding villages rushed on horseback and motorcycle to the spot. Some of them, including relatives of monks, argued, and even wrestled, with the monks to try to stop them from continuing their march since the troops were in obvious readiness to begin shooting.
Eventually, the monks returned to their monastery after three hours, following mediation by some Tibetan government officials and a guarantee of safe passage for the monks.
Later in the night, however, monk Thangzin, in his twenties, was arrested from his living quarter, forcing several other monks to go into hiding, the report said.