Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

23 March 2009

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders condemns the arrest of Tibetan writer Kunga Tseyang on 17 March 2009, and the re-arrest of Jigme Gyatso, a monk who helped Dhondup Wangchen make “Leaving fear behind,” a 2008 documentary featuring interviews with more than 100 Tibetans, including monks and elderly people.

"Kunga Tseyang’s arrest appears to be directly related to articles he wrote recently and is yet another example of the way the Chinese authorities are cracking down on Tibetan writers and journalists," Reporters Without Borders said. “We urge the Chinese government to free him without delay.”

Tseyang, 20, lives in the Lungkar monastery in Golok county (eastern Tibet). He also studied at Labdrang Tashi Kyil monastery and the Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies. He has written many articles about Buddhism and Tibetan art and culture, including the widely-read, "China must apologize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama"

Tseyang is also an environmental activist and a regular contributor to the Yutse Environment Department as a photographer.

The authorities have not said why he has been arrested or where he is being held.

For further information on the arrest of Jigme Gyatso, see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view...

For further information, contact Vincent Brossel, RSF, 47, rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 70, fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51, e-mail: asia rsf.org, Internet: http://www.rsf.org