China/Tibet

Monks held following riot

Article published on the 2009-03-22 Latest update 2009-03-23 06:27 TU

Tibetan monks in Qinghai province, 24 February 2009.
(Photo: Reuters)

Nearly 100 monks are being held by Chinese police Sunday following a riot at a police station, state media reported. Despite a heavy security clamp-down, it’s the first major unrest in Tibetan populated areas this year.

The riot on Saturday by hundreds of people in Rabgya, a town in Qinghai province, came in the wake of the disappearance of a prominent Tibetan rights activist, Zhaxi Sangwu, who was last seen in police custody.

“Police say that he escaped [their] surveillance, and vanished after swimming across a river,” correspondent Abel Segretin said. “But independent Tibetan sources say that the man has instead committed suicide. Some even say that he has been tortured and drowned to death by police.”

The Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that several hundred people attacked a police station in protest, and that six were subsequently arrested. 89 others surrendered to police following the arrests.

“All but two of the 95 were monks in the Rabgya monastery,” Xinhua reported.

Segretin, however, questioned the reliability of the official numbers. “Usually the figures [cited] by the Chinese authorities are less than the reality,” he said.

The riot came less than two weeks after the 50^th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet.

In the wake of the anniversary there has been a massive security clamdown, Segretin says. Tourist and media movement have been severely restricted.