Since the Lhasa uprising in March, the Chinese communist regime has required that monks and nuns in all temples throughout Tibet and part of Sichuan conduct “political study”—which includes denouncing the Dalai Lama.
After the unrest in Lhasa, the Chinese regime stationed work teams in temples to strengthen “forced thought education” for monks. Monks not only have to make a break with the Dalai Lama, but also denounce and fight against him.
According to the Tibetan Government-In-Exile, all monks in Kirti Monastery in Sichuan Province—except 250 in their 70s—left the temple on June 3, refusing to denounce their spiritual leader.
“Kirti Monastery has been forced to join the so-called patriotic education campaign for 72 days since March,” Gesang, a member of the Emergency Coordination Group of the Tibetan Government in Exile, told Radio Free Asia on Thursday.
“[The Chinese regime’s work team] divided the monks into eight groups, forcing them to sign the document denouncing the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. For many monks this felt unbearable, so on June 1 they refused to join the education campaign.”
On June 3 the monks left the temple, the older monks remaining behind.
The Kirti Monastery usually has more than 1,500 monks, holding up to 3,000 to 4,000 at its peak. Because the authorities required the monks to submit to the brainwashing, many have left.
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