Two monks at a monastery in western China were killed in a clash with
paramilitary police last weekend, three Tibetan sources have told The Times.
The monks, at a monastery in western Sichuan province, which borders Tibet,
were killed in a clash on July 12. For monks of what are popularly known as the
“red hat” sects, the date marks one of the most auspicious festivals of the
year.
It is the first report of the lethal use of gunfire against Tibetan
protesters demanding the return of the exiled Dalai Lama and independence since
the fatal shootings on April 2 at the Tongkor monastery. The reports come
despite a news blackout imposed by the Chinese authorities on reports of
continuing deadly unrest in Tibetan parts of the country. A month before the
Olympics, Beijing is determined to present a trouble-free image to the world.
Tibetan sources said that the trouble erupted when monks at the Gonchen
monastery, one of the most prominent in the region and renowned as a centre for
printing Buddhist sutras, or scriptures, attempted to mark a festival that fell
on the tenth day of the sixth month of the Tibetan calendar.
The festival pays homage to the birthday of Padmasambhava, or Guru Rimpoche,
the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. Officials assigned to the monastery to keep an
eye on the monks, especially since a deadly riot in Lhasa on March 12, refused
to allow the men to hold their traditional dances.
What happened next may never be clear. Repeated calls to Dege, a town in a
remote region on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, resulted in professions of
ignorance of any incident on that date. Information barely trickles out from an
area where People’s Liberation Army troops man roadblocks in almost every town
and village.
A worker at a local hotel said: “The incident on July 12 was just an
accident. Everything is safe here.” Another said: “The monasteries are open to
visitors.” A government official put down the telephone when asked about the
incident. Chinese officials installed in the monastery have refused to answer
questions.
The Tibetan sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that officers
from the paramilitary People’s Armed Police were deployed to halt any violence
and shots were fired. One said: “Two monks were killed. These were my
relatives.”
The Chinese Government is anxious to suppress any details of unrest in
Tibetan areas, particularly reports of fatal violence, with less than a month to
go before the Games.
Security authorities have emphasised their anxiety about threats of terrorist
attack from the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority living in the westernmost Chinese
region of Xinjiang. Only this week they said they had tracked down 12 terrorist
groups operating in the region. Earlier, the authorities said they had arrested
gangs planning to kidnap athletes and foreign journalists at the Games.
There have been no reports of threats from restive monks in Tibet. However, a
ban on flags from any non-participating countries is meant to stop activists
from waving the “snow lion” of Tibet, associated with attempts to break away
from China.
China will ban all entertainers from overseas, Hong Kong and Taiwan who have
ever attended activities that “threaten national sovereignty”, the Government
said yesterday after an outburst by the Icelandic singer Björk.
This year, she shouted: “Tibet! Tibet!” at a Shanghai concert after
performing her song Declare Independence, which she has used to promote other
independence movements.
Oldest sect
— The Nyingma sect, also known as the Red Hat Sect, is the oldest sect
of Tibetan Buddhism.
— Its name, meaning “ancient” or “old” in the Tibetan language, stems
from its practice of Buddhism deeply rooted in the Tubo Kingdom of the 8th
century.
— Nyingma monks wear red hats, while the Gelug sect, formed in the
14th century, wear yellow ones. The Dalai Lama is the figurehead of the dominant
Yellow Hat sect.
— The Red Hat sect claims as its founder Padmasambhava, the man
credited with building Tibet’s first monastery, Samye, in the late 8th century.
— The sect advocates the study of Tantrism and its monks can marry. It
is also active in India, Bhutan and Nepal.
(Sources: www.tibet-tour.com; Times archives)