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Tibetan writer Zhogs Dung was arrested by Chinese police on Friday report Tibetan sources. Although officials have declined to comment on his detainment, it is assumed that his arrest was related to open letter he signed with other Tibetan intellectuals criticising the government’s relief effort after the Qinghai earthquake. The letter first published on the Tibetan website www.sangdhor.com (temporarily defunct) states that “news from the mouthpiece for the party organisations can not be believed” and also reminds people to not send donations directly to government organisations due to corruption. The Oslo-based Voice of Tibet radio station reports that its transmissions in China have been jammed for two days, despite the fact that the majority of its broadcasts have been messages of condolence from exiled Tibetans.
Tibetan monks were amongst the first to reach remote areas such as Yu Shu after the Qinghai earthquake. Their role in the massive relief effort has gone unrecognised by Chinese media and now they have been told to leave the area by the Chinese authorities. A statement issued by the Chinese State Council recommends the monks “return to their monasteries to ensure the high effectiveness and order of quake relief work.” The Dalai Lama, denied access to visit the disaster area has posted a message of mourning on his Facebook page.
Two Tibetan students studying at the Northwest National Minorities’ University in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, were arrested by Chinese authorities last week. Police raided the rooms of Tashi Rabten (pen name Te’urang) and Druklo (pen name Shokjang), searching their personal possessions and confiscating their mobile phones, laptops and books. Tashi Rabten, editor of the banned literary magazine Shar Dungri (Eastern Snow Mountain), had previously been arrested in June 2009 for editing a collection of political essays called Written in Blood.
Thirty-four Tibetans were arrested in Kathmandu last Wednesday, for staging demonstrations. The protests, outside a Buddhist monastery and the Chinese Embassy, were commemorating the 1959 Tibetan uprising. This crackdown on pro-Tibet actions coincides with an increase in security measures in Lhasa. 2,800 police officers have been deployed in the city in anticipation for potential violence this week during the second anniversary of the 2008 riots.