Round 200 residents of Tibet’s capital Lhasa had been detained within the wake of large protests within the metropolis final week in opposition to COVID lockdowns that left many restricted to their properties with out enough meals or medical care, RFA has discovered.
The Oct. 26 protest included each Han Chinese language and Tibetans residing within the metropolis, and was Lhasa’s largest since a 2008 rebellion, later crushed by Chinese language safety forces by Tibetans calling for higher freedoms beneath Chinese language rule.
Chinese language authorities have now detained round 200 Lhasa residents within the wake of final week’s protest, RFA discovered from Tibetan sources talking on situation of anonymity to guard their security.
“Although many of those detainees are of Chinese language origin, there are additionally a variety of Tibetans coming from different components of Tibet and from Chengdu,” one RFA supply stated, referring to the capital metropolis of western China’s Sichuan province.
“They’re presently being held inside buildings owned by improvement corporations contained in the Tibet Autonomous Area,” or TAR, the supply added.
Additionally talking to RFA, a second individual stated that it has been tough up to now for out of doors sources to establish the Tibetans presently being held. “However the primary allegations in opposition to them look like that they took a lead position in organizing the protests. Most of them look like working-class residents of town.”
“One among my pals is amongst those that had been detained, and I’ve no details about what circumstances are like for them now or even when they’ve enough meals,” the supply stated.
Many of the Han Chinese language detained within the protest had been later freed and allowed to return dwelling, and although Tibetan detainees had been instructed they might be freed by Oct. 29, there isn’t any proof that any have been launched, he added.
China’s lockdown in Lhasa started in early August as COVID numbers there and all through China started to climb. Lhasa residents have stated on social media that the lockdown order got here with out leaving them time to arrange, with many left wanting meals or lower off from medical care.
As of Thursday, 18,667 Tibetans within the TAR have examined constructive for COVID in response to official Chinese language data.
Previously an impartial nation, Tibet was invaded and integrated into China by drive greater than 70 years in the past. Chinese language authorities keep a decent grip on the area, proscribing Tibetans’ political actions and peaceable expression of cultural and non secular id.
Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Written in English by Richard Finney.