Karwang, 36, was accused of hanging posters glorifying independence. The police stopped him last May; during the interrogation he suffered torture and violence. His relatives received no compensation for his death. The operation to recover the remains and the burial under the strict supervision of the authorities.

Dharamsala (AsiaNews) - A Tibetan monk died in Chinese prisons as a result of torture by police officers. The Buddhist monk was locked up in a county jail in Nyagrong, in Kardze prefecture, one of the autonomous prefectures of Tibet in the Chinese province of Sichuan. Karwang, 36, was accused of hanging posters glorifying the independence of Tibet in Kardze County. For this reason, sources say from the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), he was imprisoned awaiting trial.

Local witnesses reported that in May 2012, posters glorifying freedom appeared on the walls of a Chinese government building in the county of Nyagrong. Some days later, authorities arrested the Buddhist religious Karwang, who lives in the monastery of the city, because he was considered responsible for the postings. The security forces transferred the monk to Dartsedo County, where he remained holed up in the local jail for eight days. The authorities tried to extort a confession by force, but Karwang always denied any wrongdoing with disdain. Some sources confirm that he was brutally beaten and tortured.

He died in prison a few days later. His relatives received a telephone call in which they were asked to take charge of the corpse, under the strict supervision of the police who "accompanied" the family during the operations. The funeral was held in the monastery of Serta, while relatives of the monk did not receive any compensation for the death.

Despite numerous protests and repeated appeals by organizations and foreign countries, the Chinese police continue to arrest and seize others that express dissent. In recent months, Beijing has tightened its grip on the Tibetan people, which experts believe is undergoing a real colonization. The restrictions include a ban on teaching the Chinese language and religion of Tibet, the imposition of inappropriate development policies, all in favor of the ethnic Han Chinese, and constant and varied attacks against the cultural and intellectual elite of Tibet.

For this reason, dozens of young Tibetans, monks and lay people have chosen self-immolation as an extreme form of protest. Since the start of the year, 35 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to criticize the dictatorship in Beijing and to demand the return of the Dalai Lama in Tibet. The Tibetan spiritual leader has always stressed that he does "not encourage" these extreme forms of rebellion, but he praised the "courage" of those who make the ultimate gesture, the result of the "cultural genocide" currently taking place in Tibet. Beijing responds by attacking the Dalai Lama, who is guilty of supporting "terrorists, criminals or mentally ill people." (NC)

 

 

• Tibet
• china
• dalai
• lama
• self-immolation
• religious
• freedom
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• communism