The Dalai Lama, the supreme spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, leads a prayer during the Gaden Ngamchoe festival at Dharmashala, India, on Dec. 7. (Photo: Ven Zamling Norbu/dalailama.com)
Ethnic Tibetans have expressed dismay over heavy police deployment by the pro-Beijing administration during a major Buddhist religious festival, says a report.
The security beefing during the recent Gaden Ngamchoe festival in Tibetan capital Lhasa amounted to suppression of religious and cultural freedoms of people in the region, they alleged.
The police officials in Lhasa prevented followers from gathering in large numbers and restricted the number of those trying to go on a pilgrimage on Dec. 7, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Dec. 8.
The pilgrimages to the Jokang Temple and Potala Palace are part of the festival commemorating the death of Je Tsongkhapa, a revered 14th-century scholar who founded the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism.
An unnamed resident pointed out that the unprecedented move from the police officials was distressing for the devotees.
“Without any prior announcement, the Chinese authorities are distressing devotees from entering Tsuglakhang Temple on this auspicious day,” the resident said.
“There are so many police deployed all around Tsuglakhang and police holding guns can also [be] seen above the temple,” the resident added.
The festival is marked by displays of butter lamps which traditionally use clarified yak butter and candles.
Even though the devotees were allowed to enter the temple, the police officials stopped them from forming a crowd or engaging in screening them.
The police officials were “dispersing the devotees in sections and screening us and checking our phones at the checkpoints,” the resident alleged.
A video footage posted online showed a heavy police presence at the Tsuglakhang Temple, RFA reported.
The police were seen using high-beam flashlights to disperse the crowds around the temple and telling the devotees to keep moving.
A second resident who visited a temple for the Gaden Ngamchoe told RFA that the police had deployed drones to “track people’s movement.”
Since it annexed Tibet in 1949, China has made attempts to suppress Tibetan religious systems and cultural expressions to assert more control over the region.
In August, the pro-Beijing authorities deployed several police officials during the region’s centuries-old yogurt festival.
At the festival which dates back thousands of years, Tibetans offer yogurt made from yak milk to Buddhist monks who have completed their annual retreat.
The devotees also view a 500-square-meter (5,382-square-meter) embroidered thangka portrait of the Buddha displayed at Drepung Monastery.
A large number of Chinese police monitored the crowds and checked devotees’ identity cards in inspection booths along the streets in Lhasa amid the celebrations, RFA reported.
The report also stated that government employees and retirees are not allowed to engage in religious activities and visit local monasteries during festivals.
