(TibetanReview.net, May04, 2016) – Chinese police seized and took away a young Tibetan monk in Ngaba (Chinese: Aba) county-town in Sichuan Province on May 2 after he took out a lone street protest, carrying in his hands a picture of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and shouting slogans, according to several online media reports based on local sources.
The monk, named as Lobsang Thubten of the local Kirti Monastery and believed to be in his 20s, took out his protest at about 3:30 pm on what the local Tibetans refer to as Martyrs’ road, a site of several self-immolation protests by Tibetans over the past few years. Videos posted online show the monk walking along a busy shopping street crowded with vehicles and pedestrians, and two police officers later taking him away in tight restraints, quickly marching down the middle of the street.
“He walked in the road with a photo of [exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama and called for his long life and for freedom for Tibet,” rfa.org/english May 2 quoted a local source as saying, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Chinese arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and snatched the Dalai Lama picture from the monk. They handcuffed him while covering his face with his monastic robe and pushed him into a police vehicle and drove away.
Some Tibetans who happened to be at the scene were reported to have tried to stop the monk form being taken away, but without success.
Police have not informed the monk’s family about his detention and his whereabouts remain unknown.