This article by Sophie Richardson is published by Human Rights Watch. Here is an excerpt:

Despite draconian controls on the flow of information between Tibet and the outside world, d

Tulku Dawa had been arrested in May 2010 at his monastery, Shag Rongbo, in the Nagchu Municipality of northern Tibet, bordering Driru county, where protests erupted in late 2013 and were ruthlessly suppressed. Officials accused him of seeking guidance from the exiled Dalai Lama – leader of the Gelukpa school to which Shag Rongbo belongs – in selecting the reincarnation of the Rongpo Chöje, the monastery’s chief lama. An onerous political reeducation campaign was imposed on the monastery, leading to expulsions and the suicide of an elderly monk. Tulku Dawa was reportedly sentenced to seven years in prison, and banned from ever returning to the monastery.

Tensions reached a peak in July 2013, when local residents clashed with officials conducting reeducation at Shag Rongbo. About 50 people were arrested, many of the monks fled, and the authorities closed down the monastery. Regional political leaders reopened it a few weeks later and oversaw the enthronement of the Chinese government’s candidate as the next Rongpo Chöje.

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