Kardo was formerly associated with the Champa Ling monastery in Chamdo prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). He was arrested at his home and in the subsequent search two cassettes of the Dalai Lama’s speeches were discovered.
According to one report, Kardo was a student monk at Jampaling Monastery for a long time but left because of the monastery’s worship of a controversial deity called Dorje Shugden. The Dalai Lama discourages worship of the deity.
Kardo was taken into custody on April 21 at his home in Dzogang (in Chinese, Zuogong) county by county police, a Tibetan living in India told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Monday.
“Two cassettes of the Dalai Lama’s speeches were discovered in his room,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity and citing contacts in the region.
He was severely beaten in custody and died on April 28.
Tibet is experiencing a new round of harsh crackdowns and arrests by Chinese police. Monks have been severely beaten and are being denied the ability to go to homes to worship. Residents are being forced to fly the Chinese national flag against their will. Many tore the flags down, leading to more beatings and arrests.
The denial of religious freedom of course goes hand in hand with China’s denial of basic freedom of speech and association. While some leaders like our “ally” Hamid Karzai have praised the Chinese as a model of success and invited them into their countries, China’s continued repression of Tibet and denial of human rights to its own population is often forgotten.
Source: RFA