Tibetan women arrested for participating in anti-lockdown protests in China: Report

Chinese police arrested four young Tibetan women for participating in anti-lockdown protests witnessed across China, Phayul reported citing various media reports. The detained women were students working in a hotel in the Jinniu district in Chengdu city.

"Chinese police have arrested four Tibetan women, Zamkar, Dechen, Kalsang Dolma and Delha on December 5 for allegedly participating in a peaceful demonstration against the Zero Covid policy in Sichuan's capital Chengdu," Phayul cited Tibet Post quoting one source.

As per the news report, Zamkar hails from Serlong village in Dartsedo, Kalsang, Dolma and Delha belong to Dartsedo County. All four women studied in high school in the same area and worked in Chengdu city. The hotels were shut down due to the strict restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities in Chengdu and other cities.

Zamkar, Dechen, Kalsang, Dolma and Delha were arrested on Monday for participating in the protests in the region, according to Phayul. Chinese authorities have arrested peaceful protesters in universities and cities for demonstrations against the government, including the arrest of a young Tibetan woman named Tsewang Lhamo from Lhasa, Phayul reported citing various media reports. Lhamo is a student at the Nanjing Communication University in China.

People raised slogans like "Xi Jinping, Step down!" and "Communist party, Step down!" during protests in Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Qinghai in Tibet and other regions, as per the news report. In October, visuals of protests in Lhasa emerged online, showing hundreds of people participating in the protest.

Notably, China has been following a strict COVID policy ever since the pandemic emerged in Beijing. Chinese authorities have been adhering to stringent COVID measures, including lockdowns, mass testing, and travel restrictions in order to control the spread of COVID-19.

Protesters included Tibetans and Chinese demonstrating against the lockdown imposed by the Chinese administration. A person in Mandarin said, "[We] have been locked up for too long. And a lot of people in this community are people who have just come to work and earn money. If they could get that in mainland China, they wouldn't have come here," according to Phayul.

Citing the Dharamshala-based research group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, the report said that the group in September said that five people committed suicide due to the "draconian measures" imposed by the Chinese government under the zero-COVID policy. As per the news report, five Tibetans committed suicide from September 23-25 due to Beijing's lockdown policies.

( With inputs from ANI )