Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Oct 25: A Tibetan human rights organization has raised alarm over the disappearance of four Tibetans, including two prominent monks, who were detained by Chinese authorities in Ngaba, Amdo.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) reported that two monks from Kirti Monastery in the Tibetan province of Amdo, Lobsang Samten and Lobsang Trinley, along with Tsering Tashi and Wangkyi, were arbitrarily detained in early September. Their current whereabouts and any charges against them remain unknown.
Lobsang Samten, 53, a monk holding the Karampa (Geshe) title for academic excellence, serves as the junior chant master at Kirti Monastery’s Prayer College. Originally from Khangsar township in Chikdril County, Samten has been associated with the monastery since childhood. This is not his first encounter with detention, as he was previously held in 2011 alongside 300 other monks.
The second detained monk, Lobsang Trinley, also known as Drenpo, is in his forties and hails from Rong khangsar town in Ngaba County. He has been instrumental in organizing ritual ceremonies at the monastery.
A source speaking to TCHRD revealed the intensifying situation in the region: “There have been reports of members of the Haritsang family being arrested for maintaining contacts in India, though specific details remain elusive. In recent months, repression in the Ngaba region has intensified, with increased restrictions particularly aimed at Kirti Monastery and nearby villages.
“Arbitrary detentions and secret sentencing of Tibetans have become frequent. Local Tibetans are being silenced through intimidation, making it increasingly difficult for information to surface. Even those who are released from detention are prohibited from revealing the charges against them or where they were held, further obscuring the truth from the community.”
Ngaba is a region in the Tibetan province of Amdo that has been the epicentre of self-immolation protests against Chinese government repression due to which the region became unfortunately known as the “self-immolation capital of the world.”
This incident follows China’s closure of two major Buddhist monastery schools in July this year, forcing approximately 1,600 novice monks into government-run boarding schools, marking what observers see as part of a broader campaign to assimilate Tibetan cultural and religious identity into Han Chinese culture.
TCHRD has issued a call for Chinese authorities to end these arbitrary detentions immediately and provide information about the status and whereabouts of the four detained individuals.
