TIN sources from Tibet have recently reported the arrest of six monks and the sentencing of two of those monks from Dragkar Traldzong monastery in Tsigorthang county (Chinese: Xinghai shen) in Tsolho prefecture, Qinghai province (traditionally known as Amdo by Tibetans). The arrests, which took place in July 2002, were reportedly related to political activities. There have been no reports of maltreatment relating to these arrests.
The monks who were sentenced are Kalsang Dondrub, who is in his late thirties, and Ngawang Dondrub, lay name Tsethargyal, 36 years old. Both are from Tsigorthang county. They were arrested by the prefectural branch of the State Security Bureau and their whereabouts were unclear for two months after their arrests. Both were eventually sentenced in Xining in January 2003. Reports indicate that the two were sentenced for ‘endangering state security’. They were accused of being members of an organisation in Dragkar Treldzong reportedly called ‘Chol Sum Dendzin Tsogpa’ (‘holding the three provinces as the truth’, an allusion to the three traditional provinces (Tibetan: cholkha) of Tibet, U-tsang, Kham and Amdo).
The reports which reached TIN mention that after their conviction, Kalsang Dondrub and Ngawang Dondrub were taken to “traba trang, a prison facility with a brick factory”. However, neither further details nor the location of the prison are known.
Four more monks were taken into custody for questioning in relation to these arrests, but they were released after a period of several weeks. All of them are said to have held monastic positions in Traldzong monastery, ranging from disciplinary master (Tibetan: geko) to chant master (Tibetan: umdze). One was reportedly a member of the Democratic Management Committee of Traldzong monastery. Democratic Management Committees are bodies that function as a liaison between the religious departments of local governments and monasteries, they are entrusted with the implementation of regulations and directives sent down by the authorities. Reports mention that the detainees were “not maltreated as normally happens during arrests”.
Dragkar Traldzong Thoesam Yonten Dargye Ling monastery is situated about 20 kilometres southwest of the county seat of Tsigorthang county. The monastery, originally a simple temple on a site associated with Guru Rinpoche, one of the founders of Tibetan Buddhism, grew to a monastery of considerable size. The monastery had a monk population of 500 in 1958 when it was closed down by the Chinese authorities. It re-opened in 1981 and currently has a population of around 400 monks.
Trends identified in political imprisonment in Tibet in recent years indicate that there has been little incidence of arrests in the north-eastern area of Tibet traditionally known as Amdo. These six arrests are therefore particularly significant.
