Tibetan monk severely beaten as he staged lone protest

TibetanReview: A young Tibetan monk was severely beaten by a mob of some 30 Chinese police in the Serta (Chinese: Seda) County town of Karze (Chinese: Ganzi) Prefecture, Sichuan Province, on Jan 27 as he staged a lone street protest calling for the Dalai Lama’s return from Exile, report Radio Free Asia (Washington) Jan 27 and others.

Kunchen, 22, (or Phuntsok Jungney, 20, according to another report) threw paper prayer leafs and shouted prayers for the Dalai Lama’s long life and for his return from exile as he walked up and down the street near a landmark Golden Horse statue installed by the Chinese government, the report said.

The local Gepel Ling Monastery monk was reported to have continued his protest thus for a short while after which a group of some 30 Chinese security personnel appeared and set upon him, beating him severely before taking him away.

The Chinese immediately strengthened security in the area. Serta has been a scene of many large scale Tibetan demonstrations against Chinese rule, including last year, which resulted in bloody Chinese crackdowns. The town has also seen several self-immolations by protesting Tibetans.

On Nov 26, 2012, Wangyal, a Tibetan student, torched himself as he raised slogans calling for the Dalai Lama’s return at the spot where Kunchen staged his protest.