30 July 2008
Four Tibetans arrested for protesting against festival to greet Olympics
Four Tibetan youths from Nangchen (Chin:Nangqian) county, Yushu TAP, Qinghai Province, were arrested by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) for disrupting a summer festival planned to coincide with the Olympic Games, according to information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). TCHRD's sources stated that the authorities ordered all the township and villages authorities in the area to participate in a summer festival in Drokshog township. Three days before the festival, four Tibetans from Nangchen county shouted slogans, gave out pamphlets and urged locals to boycott the event. This led to a mass walkout, leaving just government officials on the site, and the eventual cancellation of festival. Asang Bersatsang, Ngoesoe Konkyaptsang, Jamsang and Gadho were arrested by Nangchen county PSB officials and detained. Residents of Drokshog township wrote a letter to the authorities on 28 July calling for their immediate release.