Tibetan man flies flag on tree, police launch hunt
Phayul[Thursday, September 17, 2009 23:50]
Dharamsala, September 17 – An entertainment event in Nangchen County in Yushul Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province, took a not so entertaining turn after Chinese security forces severely beat up four school children and cordoned off the venue.

The incident occurred Wednesday at a musical show during which a group of Tibetan men suddenly appeared and chanted anti China slogans, according to Geshe Monlam Tharchin, a member of the Tibetan parliament in exile. One of them climbed up a tree, tied a Tibetan national flag on it and fled off on a waiting motorbike, he said. The others ran into the crowd of spectators and disappeared. According to the source’s contacts, the men were not local residents. The four school children were allegedly taking video of the incident. It is not known if the four had been detained or taken to hospital for treatment.

The authorities sealed off the event venue and were searching for the men in spectators. Since it was a huge gathering there was already a strong presence of security forces and police at the venue, Geshe Monlam Tharchin said. Reinforcements were called from Kyegudo to hunt for the men but it is not known yet if anyone has been arrested or detained.

In another incident, two monks of Gonshab monastery were detained a few days ago for engaging in a fierce argument with County officials whom they accuse of corruption, the same source said. The four monasteries in the area were to receive some electrical appliances including generators as government grants from the County administration but many of the listed appliances were missing. The two monks had gone to the County administrative office in Nangchen to find out about the missing appliances. The monastery’s heads and Trulkus have urged the authorities to release the two monks.