(TibetanReview.net, Jan15’22) – Chinese authorities in Kham Tibetan prefecture of Kardze (Chinese: Ganzi), which is now part of China’s Sichuan Province, took away two Tibetan monks in August last year and there is still no word on the reason for their arrest or their current conditions and situation, reported the Tibetan Service of rfa.org Jan 12.
The report said Tenzin Norbu and his brother Wangchen Nyima were arrested on Aug 15, 2021 and taken to prison in Tawu (Daofu) County. They have been held incommunicado ever since, leaving their family feeling worried with rising anxiety, an exile Tibetan with local contacts was cited as saying.
Wangchen Nyima, well known for his advocacy for Tibetan education and health, was previously arrested in 2015, with another brother, named Orgyan Choedrak, when the Chinese government forcibly shut down schools in his monastery, the report said.
The two currently arrested monks are said to be nephews of Tulku Choekyi Nyima, abbot of Nenang Monastery in the same prefecture’s Draggo (Luhuo) County.
Local Tibetans had previously refrained from communicating about the brothers’ arrest in order to avoid additional trouble for them, the report said.
But the situation still remains that their family continues to be disallowed to see them, with no information being provided on their conditions and situation.
The report did not say which monastery the two monks belong to.