Another Tibetan arrested for possessing photos of the Dalai Lama
Karma is being held in an unknown location and has been charged with separatism
Chinese police arrested another Tibetan in Nagchu on 12 August for possessing photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Karma Samdup, from Sernye District was found with photos of the Dalai Lama in his car and another that he wore as an amulet pendant.
Photos of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, who resides in India since 1959, are banned in Tibet, and like every Tibetan previously found with his photos or videos, Karma was also charged with separatism.
The photos were forcibly taken, according to the source, who observed that Karma’s arrest took place amid growing restrictions and inspection in Tibet. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
Karma Samdup’s detention follows the arrest of two sisters, also in Nagchu. Zumkar was arrested at her home in June for alleged possession of images of the Dalai Lama and her sister Youdon was arrested a month later.
Sisters Zumkar (left) and Youdon (right)
The heightened surveillance in Tibet is part of a campaign launched in late June by the newly appointed Minister of Public Security, Wang Xiaohong. Within a few days of taking office, he launched The “Hundred Days Action” to crack down on the rectification of public security in summer, whose Tibetan translation (Tib: ཉིན་བརྒྱའི་འགུལ་སྐྱོད།) in media inside Tibet came to be reported as “Hundred Days Movement”.
The campaign is thought to be a pre-emptive security measure to suppress possible protests in Tibet ahead of the 20th Party Congress meeting, due to be held in late October.
Information supplied by Tibet Watch
