World Tibet Network News Friday, May 15, 1998

LONDON, May 15 (TIN) -- Chinese troops and officials from Lhasa were sent to a remote rural monastery in Tibet's Nagchu prefecture two months ago, after monks staged a pro-independence protest during a patriotic education campaign in March. Fifteen monks were reportedly arrested at Rongpo Rabten monastery, Sog county, after the demonstration, which followed efforts to force monks to denounce the Dalai Lama. Chinese troops and more than 40 government officials from Lhasa were sent to the monastery to join a work team under the authority of Sonam Dargye (Suolong Daji in Chinese), Deputy Secretary General of the Tibet Autonomous Region government and a member of the Chinese Communist Party Committee. The large numberand seniority of the officials sent to the monastery, which is afour-hour drive from the nearest village of Rongpo and only accessible by four-wheel drive or on horseback, indicates the level of concern on the part of the TAR authorities about the incident and about the progress of the re-education

campaign in a monastery known for previous resistance against the Chinese. (As part of an agreement with TIN, WTN News can only publish the full report after four days of the release. If you wish to subscribe to Tibet Information Network, please visit http//:www.tibetinfo.net Ed/WTN

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