This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/world/asia/at-least-2-tibetans-reported-dead-in-custody-in-western-china.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| 5 Tibetans Are Said to Die In Chinese Police Custody | 5 Tibetans Are Said to Die In Chinese Police Custody |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| HONG KONG — Five Tibetans have died in police custody in southwestern China after a protest last week during which residents were shot and wounded, according to the exiled Tibetan government and other groups abroad. The accounts described a flaring of tensions in a mountainous area of Sichuan Province that has long been in turmoil over the Chinese government’s rule. | HONG KONG — Five Tibetans have died in police custody in southwestern China after a protest last week during which residents were shot and wounded, according to the exiled Tibetan government and other groups abroad. The accounts described a flaring of tensions in a mountainous area of Sichuan Province that has long been in turmoil over the Chinese government’s rule. |
| The reports of deaths and bloodshed have not been confirmed by Chinese state news media, and public security and government officials in the region declined to comment when called repeatedly on Wednesday. | The reports of deaths and bloodshed have not been confirmed by Chinese state news media, and public security and government officials in the region declined to comment when called repeatedly on Wednesday. |
| But the Tibetan government in exile, in Dharamsala, India, said Wednesday that five men had died in police custody after being detained following a protest last week in which the police shot at and used tear gas on an unarmed crowd in Ganzi Prefecture in Sichuan. Initially, reports from the exiled government and other groups said two men had died. | But the Tibetan government in exile, in Dharamsala, India, said Wednesday that five men had died in police custody after being detained following a protest last week in which the police shot at and used tear gas on an unarmed crowd in Ganzi Prefecture in Sichuan. Initially, reports from the exiled government and other groups said two men had died. |
| The region, known to Tibetans as Kardze or Garze, has long been a center of protest and defiance against the Chinese government. Residents had gathered to demand that the government release a respected leader of the village of Shugpa in Ganzi, who had been detained after he complained “against the mistreatment and harassment of Tibetans by the Chinese authorities,” the Tibetan administration said on its website. | The region, known to Tibetans as Kardze or Garze, has long been a center of protest and defiance against the Chinese government. Residents had gathered to demand that the government release a respected leader of the village of Shugpa in Ganzi, who had been detained after he complained “against the mistreatment and harassment of Tibetans by the Chinese authorities,” the Tibetan administration said on its website. |
| One of the detainees, Lo Palsang, killed himself in detention in Luoxu Township, the report said. Additionally, “an unidentified 22-year-old Tibetan youth succumbed to injuries sustained during the police firing,” according to the report. Tsering Wangchuk, an officer in Dharamsala with the administration, said staff members there had spoken to people in the area who verified its accounts. | One of the detainees, Lo Palsang, killed himself in detention in Luoxu Township, the report said. Additionally, “an unidentified 22-year-old Tibetan youth succumbed to injuries sustained during the police firing,” according to the report. Tsering Wangchuk, an officer in Dharamsala with the administration, said staff members there had spoken to people in the area who verified its accounts. |
| Later, the exiled Tibetan administration said it had confirmed the deaths of three more injured villagers who had been detained, echoing earlier reports from Radio Free Asia, a news service based in Washington, and Free Tibet, a group based in London. Free Tibet said on its website that the three additional victims were all relatives of the arrested village leader. | Later, the exiled Tibetan administration said it had confirmed the deaths of three more injured villagers who had been detained, echoing earlier reports from Radio Free Asia, a news service based in Washington, and Free Tibet, a group based in London. Free Tibet said on its website that the three additional victims were all relatives of the arrested village leader. |
| “It is not known when they died, but their bodies were handed over to their families on Monday,” said the report from the exiled administration, which, like the other reports, cited unnamed sources. | “It is not known when they died, but their bodies were handed over to their families on Monday,” said the report from the exiled administration, which, like the other reports, cited unnamed sources. |
| But information can be difficult to obtain from the tense area, and the reports did not describe how Lo Palsang had taken his life. The reports gave different estimates of how many people had been detained and varied explanations of the complaints that led to the protest last week. | |
| Contradicting the initial reports, the International Campaign for Tibet said on Tuesday that the security forces did not appear to have fired on the protesters with live ammunition. “Some form of anti-riot projectiles were fired,” it said. | |
| Western Sichuan Province is a heavily Tibetan area adjoining the official Tibet Autonomous Region. Many advocates of Tibetan self-rule say the area should govern itself along with other parts of wider Tibet. The area has long been a center of defiance against the Chinese government’s presence and policies, especially since 2008, when protests against Chinese rule spread there. Many of the Tibetan suicides by self-immolation that have since taken place across China have occurred in western Sichuan. | Western Sichuan Province is a heavily Tibetan area adjoining the official Tibet Autonomous Region. Many advocates of Tibetan self-rule say the area should govern itself along with other parts of wider Tibet. The area has long been a center of defiance against the Chinese government’s presence and policies, especially since 2008, when protests against Chinese rule spread there. Many of the Tibetan suicides by self-immolation that have since taken place across China have occurred in western Sichuan. |
| The reports said that Chinese security forces had inundated the village of Shugpa and that many of the men there had either fled or been detained. | The reports said that Chinese security forces had inundated the village of Shugpa and that many of the men there had either fled or been detained. |
| “We have heard that it is mainly now only children, women and elderly people remaining in the village,” one of the unnamed Tibetan sources was quoted as saying by the International Campaign for Tibet. | “We have heard that it is mainly now only children, women and elderly people remaining in the village,” one of the unnamed Tibetan sources was quoted as saying by the International Campaign for Tibet. |
| The reports also said the authorities had denied medical treatment to detained men shot during the protest last week. | The reports also said the authorities had denied medical treatment to detained men shot during the protest last week. |