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INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET
main Kardze monastery staged a protest the next day. Then on the afternoon of May
14 over 50 nuns from nearby Pangri nunnery managed to march in protest up to the
county government offices. They were beaten and arrested, and further restrictions
placed on the nunnery, culminating in the arrest of Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche, one of
the senior Kardze lamas and head of Pangri, on May 18. 3
The remaining Pangri nuns and inmates of the nearby old people’s home (founded by
Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche) protested again on May 19 demanding his release, and
were arrested. A Tibetan source told ICT “The tension heightens after each such
protest, how small it might be. Word gets around and there is an increase in the number
of troops in the area.”
Tibetan nuns have taken a leading role in dissent in Kardze TAP with further peaceful
protests on May 28 and at least six more separate protests since the Pangri nuns
were detained after their bold demonstration on May 14. More than 80 nuns are reportedly
still detained following the unrest in Kardze that has continued despite the
severe ‘anti-separatist’ crackdown in Tibetan areas which has been upheld even since
the earthquake struck Sichuan on May 12. 4
In an incident on May 28, a 21-year old female student, Rinchen (or Rigden) Lhamo,
was fired upon and possibly injured in the leg by armed police after she unfurled the
banned Tibetan ‘snow lion’ flag at the government headquarters in Kardze, according
to an eyewitness report received by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and
Democracy (TCHRD), and other Tibetan sources. Her whereabouts are now unknown,
although she is assumed to be still in custody.
Detention of a ‘gentle, strong’ nun
On May 28, Sangye Lhamo, a 26-year old Tibetan nun from Dragkar nunnery, was
joined by fellow nuns Tsewang Kando, 38, and Yeshi Lhadon, 24, in handing out
leaflets during a peaceful protest in Kardze town before being detained, according to
Tibetan sources with contacts in the area. The three nuns are currently being held in
Kardze town jail and have been denied family visitation. A relative of Sangye Lhamo’s
in exile told ICT “[She] is both very strong and also incredibly gentle, and we are deeply
concerned about her. The nunneries in Kardze are places of joy and strength of character,
and now I am so afraid for them.”
Protest resumed in Drango county in Sichuan on June 6 (three monks with a national
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