FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2008

Contact:     Tenzin Dorjee in New York, +1 646-724-0748
                 Lhadon Tethong in Dharamsala, India +91-9805-237-015

20 TIBETANS KILLED BY CHINESE FORCES IN NGABA PROTESTS
20,000 Tibetans in the region are reported to have joined the uprising

Dharamsala/New York – New information and photos of the protests in Ngaba "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture" ("TAP"), in Amdo province of Tibet (present-day Sichuan Province) on March 16th have been made available today by local sources. According to earlier reports from the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, a protest erupted on March 16th at around 11:30am in Ngaba.

The protests were sparked when Chinese authorities ordered the over 20 monasteries in the Ngaba “TAP” to raise the Chinese flag. Following a prayer ceremony at Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, thousands of monks started chanting “Independence for Tibet” and “Long Live the Dalai Lama.” Chinese troops stationed in the area responded with violence, but the protest spread outside of the monastery grounds and into the nearby market square. Students from Tibetan Middle School and 400 nuns from the largest nunnery in the region are reported to have also joined the protest.

The same day, protests spread to the five largest neighboring towns: Tsaruma (including at the Mamy Nunnery), Meruma, Charo, Achok, and Tsenyi. Monks held protests at the following monasteries: Se Monastery, Gomang Monastery, Andu Monastery, Khashi Monastery, Hotsik Monastery, and Tsenyid Monastery. At Taktsang Lhamo Monastery over 400 monks protested and in total over 20,000 people within the Ngaba “TAP” are reported to have joined the protests. Reports received just one hour before the sending of this release indicate that nomadic groups in Ngaba “TAP” have also started protesting.

Armed security troops opened fire on the protesters in Ngaba, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens more. The total number of deaths remains unknown. Sources reported that the local hospital initially refused to admit injured Tibetans, and only after some Tibetans threatened to burn it down were the injured admitted. Other injured Tibetans refused to go to the hospital out of fear that they would be handed over to the Chinese authorities and thus far have not received medical treatment.

"My brother-in-law's younger brother Norbu was shot by Chinese police in the crackdown in Ngaba - and he died on the spot," said Lobsang Choephel, a Ngaba native now living in New York. "I am devastated by this news and cannot imagine what my sister's family is going through right now. Norbu was only 15 years old."

20 Tibetans were reported dead following the crackdown by Chinese forces on March 16th, and 9 have been confirmed and identified as:
1. Tashi (27-year old male from Lhade Gongma Tsedrugtsang Village)
2. Tsezin Totsang (32-year old male from Thechung)
3. Lhundup Tsomo Jigjetsang, (17-year old student at Tibetan Middle School, from Ngoshu Village)
4. Atisha Gangwatsang (male from Denshu Village)
5. Norbu Phurwagoen (15-year old male, student at Tibetan Middle School, from Shanglung Village)
6. Butrang Dhargyetsang (female)
7. A Monk from Zamthang (monk in the photo)
8. Sangay (18-year old male from Raro Village)
9. Gyamtso Beize

Photos of the identified victims are available at: www.studentsforafreetibet.org/ngaba

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