By Kalsang Rinchen
Dharamsala, November 23 – A Chinese court in Tibet’s Jomda County in Chamdo has sentenced two Tibetan monks to nine and half years in prison, said Monlam Tharchin, a Tibetan member of parliament. Karma Palsang; 26 and Mipham Gelek; 22, both monks of Zigar monastery were sentenced on October 25 by the Jomda County People’s Intermediate Court.
The two were accused of setting ablaze government vehicles on the night of March 10 this year, the 51st Tibetan national uprising day. Officials and Police from the county arrested Karma and 2 others from Zigar monastery on March 11, 2010. The three were taken to the county detention centre but 2 were later released. However, Gelek was arrested later and locked up with Karma.
In 2009, Tibetan farmers in various parts of the Tibet defied Chinese government orders to till farmland and resume agriculture leading to a widespread farming boycott campaign against the Chinese government policies in the aftermath of the 2008 protests and the eventual crackdown. One Tibetan man named Tsering suffered gun shot injuries and three others, Paga, Lhadar and Samga were taken away after being severely beaten by Chinese police with baton during the boycott campaign in May last year.
The Chinese government provided tractors and other farming equipment to lure the Tibetan farmers into resuming farming but the defiant Tibetans refused to accept the gifts. Sources say that the vehicles that the two monks set on fire were the ones that the local government had been issued for use during protests by Tibetans.
