In the first such incident of its kind in Kakhog county (Chinese: Hongyuan), Ngaba prefecture, six monks from Khangmar monastery were recently arrested for political offences. The monks were arrested for involvement in the distribution of material calling for independence for Tibet during a locally held traditional ‘Yak festival’. Reports describe how they were sentenced on the 29 August 2003. Zoepa, Tsogphel, Sherab Dargye (Sherdar), Oezer, Migyur and an unidentified statue maker were reportedly sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 1 to 12 years.
The arrest and sentencing of the monks in Kakhog is the first known incident of this nature in this county and one of only a few incidences of detentions that have taken place in recent years in the area traditionally known as Amdo, now divided between the provinces Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan. While political arrests inside the TAR saw a sharp decline since 1996, arrests outside the TAR showed a marked increase, with Kardze in the traditional area of Kham, now incorporated into Sichuan province, being a focal point during the past few years.
The Public Security Bureau (PSB) confiscated a large number of pictures of the Dalai Lama and a Tibetan flag after they raided the room in the monastery of one of the arrested monks. Photos obtained by TIN show a Tibetan flag on display in the private home of someone in Tibet, alongside a large collection of pictures of the Dalai Lama. Although photographs of the Dalai Lama are officially banned, the display of pictures in private homes is still common in many places in Tibet, particularly in the Tibetan areas outside the TAR.
The monks arrested in Kakhog all held responsible positions in Khangmar monastery. Two of them had previously travelled to central China where they had established contacts that led to the sponsoring of a hospital in the monastery. Sherab Dargye was the main chant master (Tibetan: umdze) of the monastery at the time of his arrest while Oezer was the junior chant master of the Sangdu khamtsen, a unit within the monastery. Zoepa was the chairman of the Democratic Management Committee (Tibetan: Uyonlhenkhang) of Khangmar monastery. Migyur had previously travelled to India where he had studied at the Ganden monastery in southern India.
