At 1:30 in tho afternoon of 7 May, we the monks of Ganden monastery had assembled in the main courtyard of the monastery. While we were thus assembled, Ngawang Tenpa, the head lama of the monastery, some monastic administrative officials, and members of the Public Security Bureau permanently stationed in Ganden - altogether about 20 people - entered the courtyard.

The head of the Lhasa city Religious Bureau spoke to us. He said, give me five minutes to talk to you, and went on to say how much progressed Ganden monastery had made in the anti-splittist struggle and in the struggle to maintain the unity of the motherland. He said that the main reason for the day's meeting was to announce that the central government had decided that the possession of Dalai Lama photos was considered a political issue, and as such no monastery in Tibet was permitted to keep photos.

He said that Drepung monastery had sometime back made the request to delay the ban on Dalai Lama photos because it was in the middle of a long teaching. We have complied with the request.

But now, no longer, he said. He said, we have gone to Sera and Drepung monasteries. We are here to ask you to pull down Dalai Lama photos. We will stack the photos in the monastery compound itself. We won't take the photos away. We will decide where to keep the photos before 5:00 PM today.

The monks shouted and murmured their disapproval. Some said aloud, your five minutes are up. You've been speaking over half an hour now.

The Lhasa city Religious Bureau chief kept speaking regardless. But he couldn't make himself heard above the murmur of the monks.

Then the monks started to debate. When this happened, the speaker stopped talking and he and the rest of his group walked away.

When they walked away, the monks discussed and unanimously decided that even at the cost of their lives, they would not accept the Dalai Lama photos of their monastery being pulled down. The monks decided to go to the monastery's PSB station. Between 352 to 400 monks walked to the PSB station.

When the monks reached the place, they shouted, "Shame" and "Come out." The PSB officials came out of the station and confronted the monks. The monks told the officials, "We'll never accept the ban on the photos of the Dalai Lama. Do what you want with us." The monks walked around the station about three or four times, and then they started throwing stones at the PBS station. The PBS officials quickly went inside the station.

Then the monks started looking for the Lhasa city Religious Bureau chief, and discovered that the man was not in the PSB station. Then the monks walked to another part of the monastery, looking for the Religious Bureau official. But he wasn't there, either. The monks returned to the PBS station and walked in, and beat up a man. Because of the beating, the man's hand was badly injured.

Normally at 4:00 PM we start our scripture lessons. We assembled in the courtyard and were given scripture lessons till 6:00 PM. But our mind wasn't on it. All of us thought about the injured man and feared that the Chinese would do something nasty.

There was a break at 6:00 PM, and the monks discussed. They said that the army would come to Ganden monastery and that we won't be let off. At 7:30 PM we assembled again.

At around 10:00 PM, we heard and saw a lone jeep which drove up the hill towards Ganden. It was followed by a long line of vehicles. The monks then broke up for the night and started to discuss plans. Some thought that we should stay in the courtyard. Others said all of us should go back to our rooms. Still, another group said that we should put on our civilian clothes and make a last ditch protest.

We then decided to wear our civilian clothes and went to Shartse college to protest. There the monks saw soldiers with torches and guns climbing up the hill. Some of the soldiers carried loudspeakers and told the monks to return to our rooms. Otherwise, we will be arrested, they said.

Some of the monks talked back. "You do what you want. We are not afraid."

The atmosphere was tense. It seemed as if we were at war.

Then the monks walked up to Jangtse college and reached Norbu Ri, a high point in the Ganden monastery complex. That was when the monks saw that the soldiers had already occupied the opposite high point. Then the soldiers threw flares up in the sky to brighten the area, and started shooting in our direction. The monks did not have even one single needle as a weapon against the soldiers. As such we were forced to run away. Bullets zipped past our ears. As we ran, we became scattered.

I heard that night six monks were arrested. One of them was Gelek Jinpa, about 15 years old, from Medro Gama. A bullet caught him in his posterior. Another monk had a bullet in his leg. I don't know his name. I heard that they were taken to the military hospital near Sera. I also heard that the two of them died later.

That night thinking that we would be arrested anything time, we slept with our clothes on. The next day, that is 8 May, the army had surrounded the monastery and had stationed from five to six soldiers on the roof of each college of the monastery.

At about 7:00 AM, the elder monks and monastic administrative officials were told to assemble in the dining hall of the monastery. At about 11:00 AM, the monks were told to give our bio-data to our respective college teachers, name, birthplace, age, names of parents and the date of admission to the monastery.

At about 2:00 PM, they started arresting the monks. Altogether 52 were arrested. Then with officials of the monastery, they entered the various colleges and pulled down Dalai Lama photos.

On 9 May the entire monastic community held a meeting. There we heard that about seven monks had ran away but were later arrested.

On 10 May the monks had to meet till 11:00 AM. We were told that for three months, we would be given political education. That day at 2:00 PM, about 24 monks were arrested. We also heard that all those who took part in the protest would be arrested.

Altogether from 7 to 10 May about 90 monks were arrested. Since 7 May, the Chinese authorities placed soldiers at all the entrance and exit points of Ganden monastery, at the Kuru Zampa Bridge, the village at the foot of the Ganden hill and at Taktser.

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Last updated: 12-Aug-97