NEW DELHI: Tibetan monks have been beaten up and arrested for 'leaking info' after being forced to watch the demolition of a giant Buddha statue in Drakgo, Tibet. Chinese authorities after destroying a 99-foot-tall Buddha statue in Drakgo, have arrested 11 monks from Drakgo's Gaden Namgyal Ling monastery for sending news and photos outside Tibet about the destruction.
The Buddha statue was established in 2015 with the financial support of local Tibetans to prevent the region from famine, war, and catastrophes of fire, water, earth, and air. It was for the wellbeing of all.
The US State Department has voiced "deep concern" at reports of the statue's destruction. It said in a statement, "(We) continue to urge PRC authorities to respect the human rights of Tibetans and the preservation of Tibet's environment as well as the unique cultural, linguistic, and religious identity of Tibetan traditions."
The statement further said, "We will work with our partners and allies to press Beijing to cease on-going abuses against Tibetans and return to direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his Tibetan representatives, without preconditions, to resolve differences."
Sophie Richardson, China director for New York-based Human Rights Watch, added that China's demolition of the statue and crackdown on Tibetans sharing news of its destruction show that "religious believers cannot rely on legal or constitutional safeguards of their faith".
China in its current phase of "ultranationalist and statist ideology gives all power to the state, and regards civil society with suspicion and contempt," Richardson said.
The international condemnation of the destruction of Buddha's statue has not deterred China form committing brutalities against the peace loving Tibetan monks.
There are reports that new restrictions have now been imposed on Tibetans following the statue's demolition. Tibetans are not being allowed to hang prayer flags outside their doors. And their fireplaces, which are sometimes used for purification rituals, are also being destroyed in gross violation of their human rights.
Media sites giving source based stories from Tibet are reporting that the Chinese police are now beating Tibetans on unreasonable excuses such as not having 'a proper expression' on their face. Some Tibetans are being made to stand outside in the cold weather and are then released without explanation.
The shattering of the Buddha statue in Tibet is the latest in a series of crackdowns which amount to cultural genocide by the Chinese Communist Party.
The Chinese with their suppression of Tibetan religion and culture are adopting tactics used by the oppressive Taliban, when they destroyed numerous religious artefacts in Afghanistan during their first reign there. This amounts to violations of freedom of thought, conscience and religion in Tibet as espoused in Article 18 of the Universal declaration of Human Rights. (IANS)
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