Tibetans detained for chanting "long live His Holiness"   Monks of Rebkong in Amdo, Tibet, take part in the opening of the Great Prayer Festival or the Monlam Chenmo on 12 February 2008 Dharamshala, 25 February, TibetNet: According to media reports, Chinese police on 21 February has taken into custody some two hundred Tibetans for chanting "Long Live His Holiness the Dalai Lama," during the Monlam Chenmo Festival (Greater Prayer) held at Rebkong Monastery in Amdo, Tibet. The reports further said, although Chinese authorities had released all the detainees, but the Tibetans were severely beaten during the protest. Some 20-thousand Tibetans had gathered at the monastery to take part for this year's Great Prayer festival. The Chinese government has banned the Monlam festival during the cultural revolution, but it has been gradually revived in the newly established monasteries in Tibet. The Great Prayer Festival, which falls from 4th -11th day of the 1st Tibetan month, was established in 1409 by Je Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Gelug tradition. During the festival, communal prayers were offered with great devotion, to help overcome obstacles to peace and generate conducive conditions for everyone to live in harmony.

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Last updated: 25-Feb-2008