(TibetanReview.net, Jul16’22) – Chinese police in northern Tibet Autonomous Region’s Nagchu City had arrested on Jul 11 the younger sister as well of a Tibetan woman named Zumkar for keeping a portrait of the Dalai Lama on their home altar. Elsewhere, an unnamed man was stated to have been arrested in Karze (Chinese: Ganzi) County, which is now part of China’s Sichuan Province, in June for the same reason.
These reported arrests took place as China launched a crackdown in Tibet on all forms of display of devotion to and affection for the Dalai Lama ahead of his 87th birthday on Jul 6. Reports of arrests remain scarce due to Chinese tight surveillance on Tibetans to prevent the leakage of information about the situation in Tibet.
While Zumkar, a 27-year-old mother of two, was arrested Jun 23 from her home in Tsaring (Jiri) township of Amdo (Anduo) County, Chinese police came for her younger sister Youdon, in her 20’s, on Jul 11. The latter was accused of helping her sister to keep the Dalai Lama portrait, said the Central Tibetan Administration on its Tibet.net website Jul 15.
The sisters are of nomadic upbringing and were reported to have been taken to Lhasa after their arrest. Their present conditions and whereabouts remain unknown.
Also, the Tibetan language news publication Tibettimes.net reported Jul 13 that Chinese police broke into the home of an about 60-year-old Tibetan man in Karze County of Sichuan Province in Jun 2022 and seized a large portrait of the Dalai Lama from his home altar.
The unnamed man was reported to have been taken to the county police station where he was severely beaten. As a result, he had to be taken to hospital for treatment. He was later brought back to the detention centre, with no information to his family on his condition, including the reason why an otherwise healthy person had to be taken to hospital.
China condemns the Dalai Lama as a separatist although the latter has only been seeking genuine autonomy with democratic freedom for his occupied homeland through negotiated settlement for the last more than three decades.