Beijing, China - Chinese authorities have demolished a statue of a Buddhist master at Tibet's oldest monastery, an activist group said Friday, the latest act in what critics say is an effort by Beijing to dilute Tibet's unique Buddhist culture.
International Campaign for Tibet blamed the mid-May demolition of the nine-meter (30-foot)-tall, gold-and-copper plated statue of Guru Rinpoche on "aggressive enforcement" of measures introduced in Tibet this year regulating the construction of outdoor religious statues.
"Even if Samye monastery had arranged for the construction of the Guru Rinpoche statue, the monastery would still have had to apply to higher Communist authorities for permission," the Washington-based group said in a statement.
Chinese authorities said in a statement posted on the Web site of the China Tibet Information Center that the statue's construction was against the law. The statement, signed by the Democratic Management Committee of Samye monastery and dated June 9, said the monastery "moved the open-air statue," but did not elaborate.
A man surnamed Guo at the press office of the State Administration of Religious Affairs in Beijing said he had no information on the case. Calls to various Tibetan government officials rang unanswered Friday.
Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, was said to have established Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th century and laid the foundation for the Samye monastery.
Buddhism is part of nearly every aspect of daily life for ordinary Tibetans. China views this devotion to the religion and the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, as a threat to its supremacy.
Communist troops took over Tibet in 1951 and Beijing contends the Himalayan region has been Chinese territory for centuries. Many Tibetans say they were effectively independent for much of that time.