22. Feb 2006
Tibetan Youths Detained Over Anti-Fur Campaign
(RFA) Authorities in Sichuan province have detained eight youths suspected of being under the effect of “foreign influences” while campaigning to destroy clothes made of fur. “Eight youths who started activities at Kirti Monastery were arrested and detained”, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA) sources. “They were not punished or beaten but subjected to intense interrogation”, the sources said, adding that all had denied being “under outside influence”. “Outside influence” is a term frequently used by Chinese officials to refer to the Dalai Lama, who recently called for an end to the use of endangered animal skins in traditional Tibetan dress. RFA sources suggest that Tibetans planned to step up their campaign after the Tibetan New Year, or Losar, on 28 February. The campaign meanwhile appears to have spread from Qinghai to Sichuan. Wildlife products have also been publicly burned in Lhasa and other parts of Central Tibet, Dharamsala, India, and Kathmandu, Nepal.