China avoids public welcome for Tibetan woman with secret release

0
27
Yangmo Kyi (far left) and other defendants hear their sentences read in a Gansu court in an undated photo. (Photo courtesy: Xinhua)
Yangmo Kyi (far left) and other defendants hear their sentences read in a Gansu court in an undated photo. (Photo courtesy: Xinhua)

(TibetanReview.net, Dec11, 2015) – Chinese authorities in Sangchu (Chinese: Xiahe) County of Kanlho (Gannan) Prefecture, Gansu Province, have secretly released a Tibetan women whom they had arrested in Oct 2012 following a self-immolation protest by a Tibetan man. The purpose of the secrecy was to prevent public welcome for Yangmo Kyi, also called Yangmo Tso, 45, after she completed her three-year jail sentence.

Police secretly took the woman to her Gyayo Village on Nov 18. As a result, local Tibetans were unable to carry out their plan to give her a warm welcome, Radio Free Asia (Washington) Dec 9 cited a formerly local Tibetan now living in exile as saying.

Kyi’s release came with a host of restrictions on her freedom. She must stay only in her village, and not visit the nearby town where her family runs a guesthouse. She is also banned from owning a mobile phone for the next three months, and is not allowed to contact people outside her home or talk about her experiences after her arrest.

Kyi was one of several Tibetans taken away by Chinese police after the Oct 23, 2012 area resident Dorje Rinchen set himself ablaze outside a police station near Sangchu’s famous Labrang monastery. She was taken away on Nov 18, accused of interfering with police efforts to recover Rinchen’s charred remains.

Although police had initially taken no action after the self-immolation, they later rounded up some Tibetan shopkeepers in the area in what was seen as an effort to show to the higher-ups that they were actively dealing with the case.

Five other Tibetans taken away with her were given lengthy jail sentences, with Kyi’s husband Pema Dhondub being jailed for 12 years and the others for four to 11 years.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here