Iron Hare 2011 – flames of resistance
the protest by shouting slogans, but were dispersed by armed police and soldiers. Similarly the military presence in the town and at Kirti monastery was intensified, as if in a war situation, and the movement of all traffic severely restricted. Kalsang Wangchuk is the son of father Tsurdri and mother Demchok, of the Tsurdri Tsang house in Saruma village, Choejema township, Ngaba county A few days previously, leaflets had been posted in town and around the monastery complex stating that if the present situation continued, many more people were prepared to give their lives in protest.
October 2nd It has been reported that Kalsang Wangchuk, the Kirti monk who committed a self-immolation protest in Ngaba county on October 3rd is now in a ward on the second floor of the county hospital under strict police surveillance. All other occupants of the ward have been moved out. We have heard that a friend of his has been sent there to nurse him,and several people have been allowed to meet him. His burns are not serious, but he has suffered a severe head injury as a result of the beatings he received from the police at the time of his arrest. Losang Konchok who committed a similar protest on September 26 was in the prefecture hospital in Barkham as of a few days ago. His injuries are severe, and he has not been allowed to meet relatives or friends. It seems that his fellow protester Losang Kalsang is in a hospital in the provincial capital Chengdu. He was shown on the “Ngaba news� official TV programme a few days ago, which announced that his injuries are not serious. 106