Around 200 residents of Tibet's capital Lhasa were detained in the wake of massive protests last week after China imposed covid lockdown that restricted the residents to their homes with inadequate food and medical equipment, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported.
Earlier, in the last week of October, Han Chinese and Tibetans living in Lhasa demonstrated on the road against the covid lockdown but were crushed by the Chinese security forces later.
It is pertinent to mention that this was the largest protest since the 2008 uprising in Lhasa, according to RFA.
"Though many of these detainees are of Chinese origin, there are also a number of Tibetans coming from other parts of Tibet and from Chengdu," one source said to RFA, referring to the capital city of western China's Sichuan province.
"They are currently being held inside buildings owned by development companies inside the Tibet Autonomous Region," or TAR, the source added.
Meanwhile, another person said that the main allegation against protesters was that they took the lead role in organizing the protests.
"One of my friends is among those who were detained, and I have no information about what conditions are like for them now or even if they have adequate food," the source said.
However, the source further added that most of the Han Chinese, who were detained in the protest, was freed and allowed to return home but the Tibetans were kept in custody and said that they will be free by October 29 but still there is no evidence that any have been released.
China's lockdown in Lhasa began in early August as COVID numbers there and throughout China began to climb. Lhasa residents have said on social media that the lockdown order came without leaving them time to prepare, with many left short of food or cut off from medical care, reported RFA.
As of Thursday, 18,667 Tibetans in the TAR have tested positive for COVID according to official Chinese records.
Earlier, in September Tibet Press reported that China's COVID mismanagement and stringent measures under its so-called 'Zero Covid policy' has created havoc in Tibet Plateau.
There is an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in Tibet but China's mishandling of the outbreak has outraged the Tibetans. Harsh lockdown conditions and repressive policies of the Beijing government have forced the locals to suffer, who are struggling to voice their concerns.
The situation in Tibet is frightening. While Chinese censors have tried to keep ground realities hidden from international knowledge, the leaked information showed that at least three have died of coronavirus infection in Tibet so far as the authorities failed to give them timely medical care, according to reports.
The world is being shown a country like China handling the outbreak in a harmonious way, but the reality apparently is far from that. The measures being taken are too severe and not in the public's interest.
China was the centre of the COVID-19 outbreak in the world, the whole suffered millions of deaths in the past 2 years. But when entire China and many parts of the world were reeling under the coronavirus crisis, Tibet remained untouched except for one case at the beginning of the pandemic. Tibet did not see a Covid-19 case for over 900 days.
While most of the world is free from coronavirus infections, many Chinese provinces suffer from viral diseases. Now, Tibet has also come under its grip, for which people are blaming Chinese agencies, reported Tibet Press.
Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force more than 70 years ago. Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the region, restricting Tibetans' political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity, according to RFA.
( With inputs from ANI )
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