Monday, January 25, 2010

Dentention

China detains Relatives of Radio Free Asia reporter over unconfirmed charges.





Two Tibetan brothers were detained over allegation of hosting an eminent Tibetan lama.



Two brothers from a family in Eastern Tibet were whisked way by Chinese police and be held for interrogation.

When

According reliable information received from Tibet, on December 12, 2010, a convoy of police vehicles descended on the house the two brothers, Tsejor Gonpo (43) alias Zhangxi and his younger brother Choenga Tsering (41, alias Zhongtok) . Peoples armed polices entered the house of the two brothers on the morning of December 12, 2010, while they family were eating breakfast and asked the two brothers to accompany them for interrogations. The blaring of siren and police presence attracted a large number of onlookers, who saw the brothers were handcuffed and taken away.



For about a half month, the duo brothers were kept incommunicado, and then learnt lately that they weld in a detention Centre in Pashoe county, under Chamdo prefecture. In prison the two brothers were kept in separate cells are interrogated.

During interrogation, the brothers were accused of the following three things

1 “possession of arms’

2. Contact with outside

3. Host of Woeser Lama, an eminent Tibetan lama from abroad

The brothers responded to the charges in the following way.

That they never possess any arms, nor do they like it and the Chinese were welcome to search their family members for any traces of arms in their household.

To the allegation that they have contacted outside, the two brothers denied of any contact with outside that leaked national security or anything politically sensitive. They urged the Chinese police to produce concrete evidence of their wrongdoings to that effect.

As for hosting Woeser Lama, they responded that Woser lama of their Monastery visited relatives in Tibet with authorization of the Chinese government. And his trip was lawful and he did not infringe any rules and regulation of the government. This information was conveyed to the brothers’ mother by an unnamed person.

Ransack shops and other establishment.

Subsequently, after a month half on Jan 22, 2010. Under the supervision of Chamdo prefecture vice deputies of police force in collaboration with Markham county polices, (approximately 40 police personnel) in a convey of ten police vehicles swooped down to search homes and business entities that owed by the two brothers.

The hotel and the disco theatre that the two brothers runs in Markham Gangtok city and their home were ransacked and even kids shoes were thoroughly investigated. The search resulted with the confiscation all the video cassettes/ including children’s DVD in their household.

Despite of numerous incidents of blasts and distribution of Free Tibetan pamphlets in the recent past in Markham, such a scale of thorough search and investigation of the individual homes and establishment were unknown.



Tsering Gonpon (alias Zhangxin) and Chonga Tsering (alias Zhangdou) have several relatives abroad, include their youngest brother Lobsang yeshi , who is a monk at Gyomey monastery in South India, and one of the sons sons studies at Sera Mey monastery in South India. The two detainees’ uncle Lobsang Choephel is a reporter for the Washington D.C based U.S government funded Radio Free Asia’s Tibetan services.

The 60 year old mother of the two detained brothers denied her sons of any wrong doing. With tears in her eyes, she said that her sons have not engaged in any political activities, nor they have ever shown any interest in such, so the charges brought against them were unfounded and baseless. Such false accusation against her sons, including the search and their arrest by police is an indicative of the Chinese official’s deliberate poke in the eyes of their relatives in abroad.

The two brothers are being held in Pashoe county, and their fate still unknown even after one and half months detention.

Red poppies

This morning, I chatted with JN, one of the foremost Tibetan English writer and political commentator on Tibet issue. I was to ask him his view and opinion on the ongoing Tibetan delegations' planned talk with Chinese contemporary. JN's view and stand is pretty clear, he contends that no negotiation is taking place at all. The Chinese side's arrogant attitude and Tibetan delegate's begging mentality is a gulf too big to be bridged. I don’t necessarily agree with JN's argument, but giving his immense research, reading and knowledge on the issue of Tibet, he is a voice to be listened and paid heed to at the least. He gave an analogy of the present negotiation status as to that of a cat playing with a maimed mouse. The robust, evil and playful cat played game with this crippling mouse. Letting go for a while, and then catch it, and then again letting it go and recatch. It induces a kind of illusionary optimism for the dying mouse and in reality the victim had no way out.