Reports from Tibet on March 24th

With a new surrender deadline only a day away, 381 Tibetans from Amdo Ngawa have reportedly already turned themselves into the Chinese authorities.

The Tibetan Government-in-Exile (TGIE) has increased the death toll in Tibet to 140, up from the 99 reported last week. Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche said, “This figure is from our sources in Tibet. The verifiable number is about 130 in entire Tibet…These are not necessarily new casualties. This could be information that we could not get before.” In addition, the TGIE has released the names and details of 40 people who were killed.

At least one monk was shot dead and another left in critical condition after the People’s Armed Police (PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) opened fire on Tibetans protesting in Drango County (Ch: Luhuo xian), Kardze TAP, Sichuan Province. The protests, which began around 2pm (Beijing Standard Time), were initiated by monks from Chokri Monastery and nuns of Ngyoe-go Nunnery in Drawo Township, and later joined by laypeople. Sources inside of Tibet reported that when the protesters were marching towards the township headquarters, a large number of PAP and PSB officers arrived to try to calm the protesters. The two sides clashed and security forces fired live ammunition indiscriminately into the crowd. The dead monk was identified as Kunga, 18, from Chokri Monastery. Tsewang Dhondup, 30, a monk from the same monastery, remains in critical condition.

Xinhua’s account of the clash only mentioned the killing of a Chinese policeman by “a mob wielding stones and knives.”