Dharamshala, India — Three Tibetan monks belonging to Kirti monastery in Ngaba County of eastern Tibet, were detained in September for staging separate solo protests against China's oppressive rule in Tibet and shouting freedom for Tibet.
"On September 05, 2018, Kirti monk Dorjee Rabten, aged 23 staged a solo protest against China's oppressive rule in Tibet and also shouted various slogans such as freedom for Tibet. other details remain unknown,” Kanyak Tsering, a Tibetan monk living in India, told the TPI on Monday. Rabten is a native of Meruma township's Village No. 2, in Ngaba County.
"In the latest protest, Tenzin Gelek, 18-year old monk also belonging to the same monastery, staged a peaceful protest against China's repressive policies in Tibet on September 6, 2018 but was quickly arrested and taken away," the local source added. Gelek is a native of Meruma township in Ngaba County.
According to the source, Gelek, known by his pen name "Sarin" (Cost of the Land), wrote two articles— one expressed the suffering of the Tibetan people and the other stated that the China's actions in Tibet are 'betrayal' of treaties. He then posted on WeChat, a social networking app before his arrest.
'A third monk, also staged a solo protest against China's oppressive rule in Tibet and shouted protest slogans in the same street at the beginning of September, 2018 but his name and details remain unknown,' source further said, adding: "His whereabouts and current situation remain unknown."
The Chinese Communist regime began their invasion of Tibet in 1949, reaching complete occupation of the country in 1959. Since that time, more than 1.2 million people, 20% of the nation's population of six million, have died as a direct result of China's invasion and occupation. In addition, over 99% of Tibet's six thousand religious monasteries, temples, and shrines, have been looted or decimated resulting in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of sacred Buddhist scriptures.