07. Jun 2009
Six held after religious rally in Lhasa
(RFA) Chinese authorities in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, detained six Tibetans after over 100 gathered and marched in what they told police was an exercise of their right to practice Tibetan Buddhism, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports. The rally took place during the Saga Dawa festival. Residents say it was the first large public gathering of Tibetans in Lhasa since protests began in March 2008. "It was not a protest but a sangsol", or a special offering to Buddhist deities, one Tibetan man, a resident of Lhasa, told RFA. Another RFA source said six Tibetans had been taken into custody for questioning. The occasion also coincided with Paris conferring honorary citizenship on the Dalai Lama at a ceremony in the City Hall, which the Chinese government strongly condemned.