Protest in Tibet over Covid restrictions, nearly 200 detained

LHASA: Around 200 residents of Tibet's capital Lhasa were detained in the wake of massive protests last week after China imposed covid lockdown that restricted the residents to their homes with inadequate food and medical equipment, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported.

Earlier, in the last week of October, Han Chinese and Tibetans living in Lhasa demonstrated on the road against the covid lockdown but were crushed by the Chinese security forces later. It is pertinent to mention that this was the largest protest since the 2008 uprising in Lhasa, according to RFA.

"Though many of these detainees are of Chinese origin, there are also a number of Tibetans coming from other parts of Tibet and from Chengdu," one source said to RFA, referring to the capital city of western China's Sichuan province. "They are currently being held inside buildings owned by development companies inside the Tibet Autonomous Region," or TAR, the source added. Meanwhile, another person said that the main allegation against protesters was that they took the lead role in organizing the protests.

"One of my friends is among those who were detained, and I have no information about what conditions are like for them now or even if they have adequate food," the source said.

However, the source further added that most of the Han Chinese, who were detained in the protest, was freed and allowed to return home but the Tibetans were kept in custody and said that they will be free by October 29 but still there is no evidence that any have been released.

China's lockdown in Lhasa began in early August as Covid numbers there and throughout China began to climb. Lhasa residents have said on social media that the lockdown order came without leaving them time to prepare, with many left short of food or cut off from medical care, reported RFA. (ANI)

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