Gansu, Tibetan monk Jigme Guri arrested
by Nirmala Carvalho
The arrest dates back to August 20. The hotel room where he stayed searched, computers and CDs seized. For the fourth time, he is under Chinese police fire, previously arrested in March 2008 after the revolt of the monks. Beijing steps up repression of Tibetan minority.
Dharamsala (AsiaNews) - Chinese authorities have arrested (again), Tibetan Monk Jigme Guri (or Gyatso), while staying at the hotel "Z Yan-hong" in the city of Tsoe (Hezou for China) in Kanlho the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. The arrest dates back to August 20, when local sources report that police "searched" his room and confiscated his computer and several CDs. But above all, the agents took away at least 30 images (including 10 large and 20 small) of the Dalai Lama, guarded by Gyatso in his quarters. A dozen other monks and some passers-by were present at the time of the arrest, but officers offered no explanation for the warrant.
Jigme Guri, 44, was born into a poor peasant family in the village of Lhutang, he belongs to the monastery of Labrang and in March 2008 had already had come under fire from the Chinese authorities, who jailed him as he returned from the city market. He was imprisoned and tortured for months in a special prison, on suspicion of having participated in the 2008 revolt of the monks.
The second arrest was on 3rd September of that year, after he had denounced Tibetans violence against the Chinese. The third arrest - after having spent two months hiding to escape the meshes of authority - took place on November 4, 2008, with a massive deployment of weapons and military forces. He remained in prison until May 2009.
There has been no information of his whereabouts or well-being since his detention on August 20, by Chinese authorities. Jigme Guri’s case is only the latest in a series involving members of the Tibetan community, victims of the repression imposed by Beijing: between 19 and 22 August, police arrested three men in the county of Tawu (Kandze, Sichuan), and despite the appeals of families, the reasons for the arrests were not disclosed. The suicide of Tibetan Monk Tsewang Norbu, from the Nyitso monastery, who set himself on fire demanding freedom for his people, dates back to August 15.
Jigme Guri, 44, was born into a poor peasant family in the village of Lhutang, he belongs to the monastery of Labrang and in March 2008 had already had come under fire from the Chinese authorities, who jailed him as he returned from the city market. He was imprisoned and tortured for months in a special prison, on suspicion of having participated in the 2008 revolt of the monks.
The second arrest was on 3rd September of that year, after he had denounced Tibetans violence against the Chinese. The third arrest - after having spent two months hiding to escape the meshes of authority - took place on November 4, 2008, with a massive deployment of weapons and military forces. He remained in prison until May 2009.
There has been no information of his whereabouts or well-being since his detention on August 20, by Chinese authorities. Jigme Guri’s case is only the latest in a series involving members of the Tibetan community, victims of the repression imposed by Beijing: between 19 and 22 August, police arrested three men in the county of Tawu (Kandze, Sichuan), and despite the appeals of families, the reasons for the arrests were not disclosed. The suicide of Tibetan Monk Tsewang Norbu, from the Nyitso monastery, who set himself on fire demanding freedom for his people, dates back to August 15.
.png)
See also
