DHARAMSHALA, November 25 : Twelve Tibetans out of the fifteen arrested earlier this month from Driru County, where protests against forced expression of loyalty to the Chinese government have been vehement since September, have been released on November 12, according to exile sources.

Those who have been released after payment of bail amount ranging from 1000 to 1800 Yuan are Yankyi, 25; Tsering, 22; Tsering Phuntsok, 21; Tador, 21; Kundrak, 17; Tenpa, 22; Thupchen, 27; Soeta, 25; Tsering Jangchub, 21; Jigme Phuntsok, 23; Lamsang, 24; and Tsering Kyab, 19. They have been made to imprint their thump impression on a document agreeing not to indulge in “separatist” activities.

Sarkyi, 49; Tsophen, 41; and Gapuk, 41; have been taken to another detention centre.

Meanwhile, another Tibetan who was arrested on November 12 has also been released after a week’s detention. 21-year-old Tsering Gyaltsen from Tenkhar village in Driru County had to pay a bail amount of 1000 Yuan for his release.

In a separate incident, a 32-year-old Tibetan woman named Thinlay Palmo has been arrested on November 12 from Driru County. The charges against Palmo is not known.

Driru has been at the centre of a collective act of defiance by Tibetans who refused to cooperate with the Chinese government orders to hoist the Chinese national flag atop their houses.

In September, Tibetans of Mowa village clashed with Chinese security forces after defiant Tibetans refused to raise the Chinese flag and threw them into a river. The authorities propagated that the Tibetans must love their motherland and hoist Chinese national flag on their houses, leading to a standoff between the government authorities and the locals.

Sources say that the situation in Driru continues to remain "tense" amid crackdown and strict monitoring of information making it hard for exile sources to verify information.