Politiktoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://politiktoons.blogspot.comand also at
http://sacrava.blogspot.com)
Showing posts with label China's illegal occupation of Tibet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China's illegal occupation of Tibet. Show all posts
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Politiktoons No. 7: Meditation in Tibet, 2008
Politiktoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://politiktoons.blogspot.comand also at
http://sacrava.blogspot.com)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Cambodia backs Chinese repression in Tibet
Cambodia backs China over Tibet unrest
Monday, March 24, 2008
Radio Australia (ABC)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Radio Australia (ABC)
Cambodia says the unrest in Tibet was elaborately plotted and organised by a small group of people with ulterior motives.
China's official Xinhua news agency has quoted a secretary of state in Cambodia's ministry of foreign affairs saying the distorted news coverage by the western media was aimed at disturbing the ongoing sessions of the National People's Congress, and to undermine the Bejing Olympic Games.
Cambodia's Long Visalo is also quoted as saying the Lhasa incident was not a peaceful demonstration but a serious riot.
Like Cambodia, Vietnam and Bangladesh have thrown their support behind China, saying that the Tibet issue is purely China's internal matter.
China's official Xinhua news agency has quoted a secretary of state in Cambodia's ministry of foreign affairs saying the distorted news coverage by the western media was aimed at disturbing the ongoing sessions of the National People's Congress, and to undermine the Bejing Olympic Games.
Cambodia's Long Visalo is also quoted as saying the Lhasa incident was not a peaceful demonstration but a serious riot.
Like Cambodia, Vietnam and Bangladesh have thrown their support behind China, saying that the Tibet issue is purely China's internal matter.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
China Vows to Crush Tibet's Independence Movement
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lent her support to the Tibetan cause during a meeting with the Dalai Lama on Friday. Meantime, unrest continues in the region as Chinese officials try to calm the violence. (March 21)
Dalai Lama gestures as he speaks to the media in Dharmsala, India, 18 Mar 2008By VOA News
22 March 2008
China's Communist Party newspaper is calling on the government to "resolutely crush" Tibet's independence movement.
A commentary in the "People's Daily" Saturday accuses the Dalai Lama of plotting recent anti-government protests in Tibet in hopes of undermining the upcoming Beijing Olympics and splitting Tibet from China.
The Dalai Lama has denied calling for protests.
Reports from China say Beijing has sent elite units of the People's Liberation Army into Tibet to crack down on the protests.
Witnesses in the Tibetan capital said armored troop carriers and other military vehicles in use there had their identifying numbers and insignia concealed.
In Lhasa Saturday, Chinese authorities raised the official toll from the past week's riots to 19 dead, including 18 civilians and a policeman. Tibetan exile groups say at least 80 people were killed in Lhasa, and that clashes in other Chinese provinces claimed nearly 20 lives.
The official Xinhua news agency has said police firing in self-defense during a riot wounded four people in a Tibetan area of Sichuan province earlier this week. However, human-rights groups have released photographs showing what appear to be corpses with bullet wounds. They allege that police killed 15 people during the clash in Sichuan.
China has expelled all foreign journalists from Tibet and tried to prevent others from reaching neighboring provinces. Before they were forced to leave, journalists were able to report on a buildup of thousands of troops, along with blockades and checkpoints across a wide swath of western China.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
A commentary in the "People's Daily" Saturday accuses the Dalai Lama of plotting recent anti-government protests in Tibet in hopes of undermining the upcoming Beijing Olympics and splitting Tibet from China.
The Dalai Lama has denied calling for protests.
Reports from China say Beijing has sent elite units of the People's Liberation Army into Tibet to crack down on the protests.
Witnesses in the Tibetan capital said armored troop carriers and other military vehicles in use there had their identifying numbers and insignia concealed.
In Lhasa Saturday, Chinese authorities raised the official toll from the past week's riots to 19 dead, including 18 civilians and a policeman. Tibetan exile groups say at least 80 people were killed in Lhasa, and that clashes in other Chinese provinces claimed nearly 20 lives.
The official Xinhua news agency has said police firing in self-defense during a riot wounded four people in a Tibetan area of Sichuan province earlier this week. However, human-rights groups have released photographs showing what appear to be corpses with bullet wounds. They allege that police killed 15 people during the clash in Sichuan.
China has expelled all foreign journalists from Tibet and tried to prevent others from reaching neighboring provinces. Before they were forced to leave, journalists were able to report on a buildup of thousands of troops, along with blockades and checkpoints across a wide swath of western China.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
King-Father supports for Tibet to remain under communist China's yoke
Translated from French by Luc SârDeclaration of
Norodom Sihanouk
King-Father of Cambodia
Norodom Sihanouk
King-Father of Cambodia
As Head of the Royal Government of Cambodia (during that period), then Head of State of Cambodia (between 1955 and 1969), at the UN podium in New York, I always declared that TIBET was an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China (so was Taiwan).
I condemn (and all my Compatriots (also) condemn) all attempt to divide China with respect to TIBET or other (region).
(Signed) N. Sihanouk
March 20, 2008
I condemn (and all my Compatriots (also) condemn) all attempt to divide China with respect to TIBET or other (region).
(Signed) N. Sihanouk
March 20, 2008
King-Father: Tibet is included in the One China Policy ... One China Policy Redux?!?
Khmer Hero King supports One China Policy22 March 2008
By Kesor Raniya Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Cambodia former monarch, King Norodom Sihanouk, said that he supports the One China Policy, and that Tibet cannot be separated from China at all. The ex-king also condemned all attempts to separate Tibet or any other region from China.
The Hero King who is currently undergoing medical treatment in Beijing was quoted by AFP on Friday, as writing a statement declaring his support (for this policy) since the era when he was leading Cambodia in the 50s and 60s.
King-Father indicated that he “always declared that TIBET was an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China.”
The ex-monarch also said that he supported China’s security tightening after the violent demonstrations in Tibet, as well as in other regions of communist China.
The Hero King who is currently undergoing medical treatment in Beijing was quoted by AFP on Friday, as writing a statement declaring his support (for this policy) since the era when he was leading Cambodia in the 50s and 60s.
King-Father indicated that he “always declared that TIBET was an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China.”
The ex-monarch also said that he supported China’s security tightening after the violent demonstrations in Tibet, as well as in other regions of communist China.
Political Cartoon: The Tyranny Club
Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.comand also at
http://politiktoons.blogspot.com)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Hun Sen's regime support China's repression in Tibet
Television footage shows police escorting a man after he signed a confession at an unknown location March 20, 2008. Tibet authorities said on Thursday they had arrested dozens of people involved in a wave of anti-Chinese violence that has swept the mountain region and prompted Beijing to pour in troops to crush further unrest. (Tibet TV via Reuters TV/Reuters)Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh support China's actions to stabilize Tibet
BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Senior government officials of Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh have expressed their countries' support for Chinese government's measures to stabilize the situation in Tibet.
"Vietnam fully supports the measures taken by China to stabilize the situation in Tibet," said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vu Dung in a meeting with Chinese ambassador to Vietnam, Hu Qianwen, on Thursday, adding that the Tibet issue is purely China's internal affairs.
The Chinese government has made great efforts for the economic developments and social progress of Tibet, and yielded tremendous achievements, said the official.
Meeting on Wednesday with Duan Jinzhu, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Cambodia, Long Visalo, secretary of state for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, said the incident in Lhasa, the capital city of China's Tibet autonomous region, was elaborately plotted and organized by a small group of people with ulterior motives.
Some distorted news coverages by Western media were aimed at disturbing the then ongoing sessions of the Chinese National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the election of new Chinese leaders, as well as undermining the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, said Long Visalo.
"The Lhasa riot is absolutely not so-called 'peaceful demonstration,' but a serious riot incident," he added.
A spokesman of the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Thursday, expressing Bangladesh's solidarity with China on the Tibet issue.
"All matters pertaining to Tibet are internal affairs of China," the statement said.
Bangladesh wishes the Beijing Olympic Games great success and would not like to see the games be politicized by any organizations, he added.
"Vietnam fully supports the measures taken by China to stabilize the situation in Tibet," said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vu Dung in a meeting with Chinese ambassador to Vietnam, Hu Qianwen, on Thursday, adding that the Tibet issue is purely China's internal affairs.
The Chinese government has made great efforts for the economic developments and social progress of Tibet, and yielded tremendous achievements, said the official.
Meeting on Wednesday with Duan Jinzhu, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Cambodia, Long Visalo, secretary of state for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, said the incident in Lhasa, the capital city of China's Tibet autonomous region, was elaborately plotted and organized by a small group of people with ulterior motives.
Some distorted news coverages by Western media were aimed at disturbing the then ongoing sessions of the Chinese National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the election of new Chinese leaders, as well as undermining the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, said Long Visalo.
"The Lhasa riot is absolutely not so-called 'peaceful demonstration,' but a serious riot incident," he added.
A spokesman of the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Thursday, expressing Bangladesh's solidarity with China on the Tibet issue.
"All matters pertaining to Tibet are internal affairs of China," the statement said.
Bangladesh wishes the Beijing Olympic Games great success and would not like to see the games be politicized by any organizations, he added.
Monday, March 17, 2008
A Tibetan is arrested by police during anti-China protests in front of the United Nations office in Kathmandu March 15, 2008. Nepal has effectively closed Mount Everest to climbers until after May 10 to allow the Olympic flame to be carried to the top without being troubled by Tibetan protesters, a senior minister said on Friday. (Shruti Shrestha/Reuters)
Tibetan exiles shout slogans during a protest march in Dharmsala, India, Sunday, March 16, 2008. Tibetan exile communities, the public voice of a region now largely sealed off from the rest of the world ramped up their protests on behalf of demonstrators inside Chinese ruled Tibet. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)By TINI TRAN
Associated Press Writer
BEIJING - Violence in Tibet spilled over into neighboring provinces Sunday where Tibetan protesters defied a Chinese government crackdown. The Dalai Lama warned Tibet faced "cultural genocide" and appealed to the world for help.
Protests against Chinese rule of Tibet were reported in neighboring Sichuan and Qinghai provinces and also in western Gansu province. All are home to sizable Tibetan populations.
The demonstrations come after protests in the Tibetan capital Lhasa escalated into violence Friday, with Buddhist monks and others torching police cars and shops in the fiercest challenge to Beijing's rule over the region in nearly two decades.
"Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place," said the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. He was referring to China's policy of encouraging the ethnic Han majority to migrate to Tibet, restrictions on Buddhist temples and re-education programs for monks.
He told reporters in Dharmsala, the north Indian town where Tibet's self-declared government-in-exile is based, that an international body should investigate the government's crackdown on the Lhasa protests.
Tibet was effectively independent for decades before Chinese communist troops entered in 1950. The latest unrest began March 10 on the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule of Tibet.
The protests are an embarrassment for China, coming just weeks before the Beijing Summer Olympics ceremonies kick off with the torch relay, which is set to pass through Tibet.
Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama's government in exile, said multiple sources inside Tibet had counted at least 80 corpses since the violence broke out Friday. He did not know how many of the bodies were protesters. On Friday, the exiled government said at least 30 protesters had been killed by Chinese authorities and the number could be as high as 100.
The official Chinese Xinhua News Agency has said at least 10 civilians were burned to death Friday. The figures could not be independently verified because China restricts foreign media access to Tibet.
In Sichuan province, Tibetan monks and police clashed Sunday in Aba county after the monks staged a protest, said a resident there who refused to give his name. He said one policeman had been killed and three or four police vans had been set on fire.
The India-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy said at least seven people have been shot dead in the county. There was no way of immediately confirming the claim.
In Qinghai province, 100 monks defied a directive confining them to Rongwo Monastery in Tongren city by climbing a hill behind the monastery, where they set off fireworks and burned incense to protest the crackdown in Tibet.
Businesses were shuttered, and about 30 riot police with shields took up posts near the monastery. Police forced journalists to delete photographs of police.
In western Gansu province, more than 100 students protested at a university in Lanzhou, according to Matt Whitticase of London-based activist group Free Tibet.
A curfew was imposed in Xiahe city in Gansu province on Sunday, a day after police fired tear gas on a 1,000 protesters, including Buddhist monks and ordinary citizens, who had marched from the historic Labrang monastery.
Large communities of ethnic Tibetans live far outside modern Tibet in areas that were the Himalayan region's eastern and northeastern provinces of Amdo and Kham until the communist takeover in 1951. Those areas were later split off by Beijing to become the Chinese province of Qinghai and part of Sichuan province.
Lhasa appeared to remain under a curfew on Sunday, though some people and cars were seen on the streets during daylight. The government has not announced the curfew but residents said authorities have warned them not to go outside for several days now.
Hong Kong Cable TV said about 200 military vehicles each carrying dozens of armed soldiers, drove into the center of Lhasa on Sunday. The footage showed mostly empty streets, but for armored and military vehicles patrolling and soldiers searching buildings.
Loudspeakers on the streets repeatedly broadcast slogans urging residents to "discern between enemies and friends, maintain order."
Xinhua said most shops in the Old Town area of Lhasa, which saw the brunt of the violence, were still closed Sunday. It said some shops in other parts of the town had reopened.
China's communist government is hoping Beijing's hosting of the Aug. 8-24 Olympics will boost its popularity at home as well as its image abroad. But the event has already attracted international scrutiny of China's human rights record and its pollution problems.
International criticism of the crackdown in Tibet so far has been mild, with no threats of an Olympic boycott or other sanctions. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Sunday on China "to exercise restraint in dealing with the protests."
Rice said she was "concerned by reports of a sharply increased police and military presence in and around Lhasa." Her statement urged China to release those jailed for protesting.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said Saturday he opposed an Olympic boycott over Tibet.
Protests against Chinese rule of Tibet were reported in neighboring Sichuan and Qinghai provinces and also in western Gansu province. All are home to sizable Tibetan populations.
The demonstrations come after protests in the Tibetan capital Lhasa escalated into violence Friday, with Buddhist monks and others torching police cars and shops in the fiercest challenge to Beijing's rule over the region in nearly two decades.
"Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place," said the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. He was referring to China's policy of encouraging the ethnic Han majority to migrate to Tibet, restrictions on Buddhist temples and re-education programs for monks.
He told reporters in Dharmsala, the north Indian town where Tibet's self-declared government-in-exile is based, that an international body should investigate the government's crackdown on the Lhasa protests.
Tibet was effectively independent for decades before Chinese communist troops entered in 1950. The latest unrest began March 10 on the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule of Tibet.
The protests are an embarrassment for China, coming just weeks before the Beijing Summer Olympics ceremonies kick off with the torch relay, which is set to pass through Tibet.
Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama's government in exile, said multiple sources inside Tibet had counted at least 80 corpses since the violence broke out Friday. He did not know how many of the bodies were protesters. On Friday, the exiled government said at least 30 protesters had been killed by Chinese authorities and the number could be as high as 100.
The official Chinese Xinhua News Agency has said at least 10 civilians were burned to death Friday. The figures could not be independently verified because China restricts foreign media access to Tibet.
In Sichuan province, Tibetan monks and police clashed Sunday in Aba county after the monks staged a protest, said a resident there who refused to give his name. He said one policeman had been killed and three or four police vans had been set on fire.
The India-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy said at least seven people have been shot dead in the county. There was no way of immediately confirming the claim.
In Qinghai province, 100 monks defied a directive confining them to Rongwo Monastery in Tongren city by climbing a hill behind the monastery, where they set off fireworks and burned incense to protest the crackdown in Tibet.
Businesses were shuttered, and about 30 riot police with shields took up posts near the monastery. Police forced journalists to delete photographs of police.
In western Gansu province, more than 100 students protested at a university in Lanzhou, according to Matt Whitticase of London-based activist group Free Tibet.
A curfew was imposed in Xiahe city in Gansu province on Sunday, a day after police fired tear gas on a 1,000 protesters, including Buddhist monks and ordinary citizens, who had marched from the historic Labrang monastery.
Large communities of ethnic Tibetans live far outside modern Tibet in areas that were the Himalayan region's eastern and northeastern provinces of Amdo and Kham until the communist takeover in 1951. Those areas were later split off by Beijing to become the Chinese province of Qinghai and part of Sichuan province.
Lhasa appeared to remain under a curfew on Sunday, though some people and cars were seen on the streets during daylight. The government has not announced the curfew but residents said authorities have warned them not to go outside for several days now.
Hong Kong Cable TV said about 200 military vehicles each carrying dozens of armed soldiers, drove into the center of Lhasa on Sunday. The footage showed mostly empty streets, but for armored and military vehicles patrolling and soldiers searching buildings.
Loudspeakers on the streets repeatedly broadcast slogans urging residents to "discern between enemies and friends, maintain order."
Xinhua said most shops in the Old Town area of Lhasa, which saw the brunt of the violence, were still closed Sunday. It said some shops in other parts of the town had reopened.
China's communist government is hoping Beijing's hosting of the Aug. 8-24 Olympics will boost its popularity at home as well as its image abroad. But the event has already attracted international scrutiny of China's human rights record and its pollution problems.
International criticism of the crackdown in Tibet so far has been mild, with no threats of an Olympic boycott or other sanctions. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Sunday on China "to exercise restraint in dealing with the protests."
Rice said she was "concerned by reports of a sharply increased police and military presence in and around Lhasa." Her statement urged China to release those jailed for protesting.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said Saturday he opposed an Olympic boycott over Tibet.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tibet protests a dilemma for China
Fire and smoke are seen along a street during a riot in Lhasa, Tibet, in this frame grab from China's state television CCTV March 14, 2008. Tibet's top government official Qiangba Pingcuo denied on Saturday that the regional capital Lhasa was under martial law. Independence protesters burned shops and cars in the Tibetan capital on Friday in the fiercest unrest in the region for two decades. Video dated March 14, 2008. REUTERS/CCTV via REUTERS TV Officials want to quell strife but know world's eyes on Olympic host
March 15, 2008
By Evan Osnos and Laurie Goering Chicago Tribune correspondents
BEIJING — The largest protests in Tibet in two decades pose a political dilemma for Beijing as it struggles to contain the unrest that coursed through the capital, Lhasa, on Friday, leaving shops and vehicles in flames and reportedly at least 10 people dead.
The Chinese government, already facing international pressure to improve its human-rights record before the Summer Olympics in Beijing, confronts two unappealing options: permit protests to continue and risk broader unrest or clamp down and face scrutiny and censure from the world.
Varying accounts suggest that Tibet's three main monasteries have been surrounded by police and troop carriers, foreign tourists are confined to hotels, and ethnic Chinese-run businesses have been targeted for damage from angry Tibetans. Some Buddhist monks reportedly are on hunger strike and, in two cases, have attempted suicide to protest police handling of the demonstrations.
Scenes of smoke-shrouded chaos in Lhasa were described in eyewitness accounts and posted in photos on the Internet, and signs emerged that the unrest may have spread to other places. At least 10 people were burned to death in the violence, according to a state media report.
The scale and details of the events, however, remain hard to verify. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing "has received firsthand reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other indications of violence," according to an advisory Friday. The embassy urged Americans in Tibet and especially in Lhasa to "seek safe havens" and "remain indoors to the extent possible."
As of late Friday, much of Lhasa was under a curfew. With only scattered reports of gunfire, Tibet experts said it appears, for the moment, that public scrutiny may have stalled or prevented a more forceful crackdown, though it is not clear how protesters will be dealt with after the initial violence subsides.
"I think we are seeing [public relations] considerations and I think that's helpful. They haven't used much shooting," said Robbie Barnett, the program coordinator in modern Tibetan studies at Columbia University. "It's progress, but we're not yet seeing signs that it translates into open-mindedness and not notions of punishment and retribution."
Tainted Olympics?
China has sent stern warnings that it will not permit unrest to undermine the Olympic Games. "Anyone who wants to sabotage the Games will get nowhere," Qiangba Puncog, the top government official in Tibet, was quoted as saying this week in state media.
With five months before the opening ceremony Aug. 8, the clashes in Tibet deal another blow to Chinese leaders already struggling to defuse foreign criticism that threatens to taint what China hopes will be a showcase of the nation's integration with the world.
Activists have brought pressure on corporate sponsors, foreign heads of state who plan to attend and celebrities involved in planning. Last month, Britain's Prince Charles said he would not attend the Games in protest of China's treatment of Tibet, and Steven Spielberg withdrew as an artistic adviser, blaming China's continuing support of the government of Sudan, which has failed to quell violence in its Darfur region.
The tension in Tibet comes just days after the U.S. State Department removed China from a list of the world's worst human-rights violators, despite objections from human-rights groups. However, China's "overall human-rights record remained poor" in 2007, according to the State Department's annual report released Tuesday, which cited stricter controls on the Internet and the news media and limits on freedom of religion in Tibet and the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
In a statement that also may reflect, unintentionally perhaps, the prospect of a wider uprising, President Hu Jintao told Communist Party officials this week: "Stability in Tibet concerns the stability of the country, and safety in Tibet concerns the safety of the country."
The protests have widened steadily since Monday, when police scattered and arrested protesters celebrating the anniversary of the Tibetan rebellion against Chinese rule in 1959. The protests in Lhasa—which began as part of a coordinated day of rallies in Nepal, India and elsewhere—have become the largest political demonstrations there since 1989, when Beijing quelled demonstrations by imposing martial law.
Tibet activists abroad are steeling for a major confrontation. Tsewang Rigzin, president of the Tibetan Youth League based in Dharamsala in northern India, said Tibetan exiles are determined make Tibet a major international focus as the Olympics approach.
"We are taking chances. We know how the Chinese have treated Tibetans in the past," he said. "But with the spotlight on them with the Olympics, we want to test them. We want them to show their true colors. That's why we're pushing this."
Speaking by phone from Dharamsala, where Tibet's government-in-exile is based, Rigzin said Tibetan exiles were particularly annoyed at China's plans to take the Olympic torch to the top of Mt. Everest before the Games.
The world's highest mountain "belongs to Tibet, not China," Rigzin said. "They're trying to show the world Tibet is part of China, so we're shining a spotlight on the brutal occupation."
'Raising the issue'
Rigzin suggested that Tibetan protesters had expected a Chinese crackdown in Lhasa. "Freedom comes for a price," said Rigzin, a native of Washington state who moved to Dharamsala in October to take over his organization's presidency. "We realize we can't achieve our goals overnight, but we have to start raising the issue."
Rigzin has this week been participating in a protest march from Dharamsala to Lhasa, part of a series of international protests. Indian authorities, fearful the march could upset officials in neighboring China, on Thursday arrested more than 100 of the Tibetan exile marchers after they ignored protests not to leave the district around Dharamsala.
Facing similar protests in Nepal, police dispersed demonstrators in Katmandu.
The unrest in Lhasa began Monday with a march by 500 monks from the Drepung monastery. They were followed by protests from monks at the Lhasa-area Sera and Ganden monasteries.
Security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to Radio Free Asia, which also cited "authoritative sources in the region" to report that two monks from Drepung monastery "are in critical condition after stabbing their wrists and chests" in a show of protest. Evan Osnos reported from Beijing and Laurie Goering from New Delhi.
eosnos@tribune.com
lgoering@tribune.com
March 15, 2008
By Evan Osnos and Laurie Goering Chicago Tribune correspondents
BEIJING — The largest protests in Tibet in two decades pose a political dilemma for Beijing as it struggles to contain the unrest that coursed through the capital, Lhasa, on Friday, leaving shops and vehicles in flames and reportedly at least 10 people dead.
The Chinese government, already facing international pressure to improve its human-rights record before the Summer Olympics in Beijing, confronts two unappealing options: permit protests to continue and risk broader unrest or clamp down and face scrutiny and censure from the world.
Varying accounts suggest that Tibet's three main monasteries have been surrounded by police and troop carriers, foreign tourists are confined to hotels, and ethnic Chinese-run businesses have been targeted for damage from angry Tibetans. Some Buddhist monks reportedly are on hunger strike and, in two cases, have attempted suicide to protest police handling of the demonstrations.
Scenes of smoke-shrouded chaos in Lhasa were described in eyewitness accounts and posted in photos on the Internet, and signs emerged that the unrest may have spread to other places. At least 10 people were burned to death in the violence, according to a state media report.
The scale and details of the events, however, remain hard to verify. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing "has received firsthand reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other indications of violence," according to an advisory Friday. The embassy urged Americans in Tibet and especially in Lhasa to "seek safe havens" and "remain indoors to the extent possible."
As of late Friday, much of Lhasa was under a curfew. With only scattered reports of gunfire, Tibet experts said it appears, for the moment, that public scrutiny may have stalled or prevented a more forceful crackdown, though it is not clear how protesters will be dealt with after the initial violence subsides.
"I think we are seeing [public relations] considerations and I think that's helpful. They haven't used much shooting," said Robbie Barnett, the program coordinator in modern Tibetan studies at Columbia University. "It's progress, but we're not yet seeing signs that it translates into open-mindedness and not notions of punishment and retribution."
Tainted Olympics?
China has sent stern warnings that it will not permit unrest to undermine the Olympic Games. "Anyone who wants to sabotage the Games will get nowhere," Qiangba Puncog, the top government official in Tibet, was quoted as saying this week in state media.
With five months before the opening ceremony Aug. 8, the clashes in Tibet deal another blow to Chinese leaders already struggling to defuse foreign criticism that threatens to taint what China hopes will be a showcase of the nation's integration with the world.
Activists have brought pressure on corporate sponsors, foreign heads of state who plan to attend and celebrities involved in planning. Last month, Britain's Prince Charles said he would not attend the Games in protest of China's treatment of Tibet, and Steven Spielberg withdrew as an artistic adviser, blaming China's continuing support of the government of Sudan, which has failed to quell violence in its Darfur region.
The tension in Tibet comes just days after the U.S. State Department removed China from a list of the world's worst human-rights violators, despite objections from human-rights groups. However, China's "overall human-rights record remained poor" in 2007, according to the State Department's annual report released Tuesday, which cited stricter controls on the Internet and the news media and limits on freedom of religion in Tibet and the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
In a statement that also may reflect, unintentionally perhaps, the prospect of a wider uprising, President Hu Jintao told Communist Party officials this week: "Stability in Tibet concerns the stability of the country, and safety in Tibet concerns the safety of the country."
The protests have widened steadily since Monday, when police scattered and arrested protesters celebrating the anniversary of the Tibetan rebellion against Chinese rule in 1959. The protests in Lhasa—which began as part of a coordinated day of rallies in Nepal, India and elsewhere—have become the largest political demonstrations there since 1989, when Beijing quelled demonstrations by imposing martial law.
Tibet activists abroad are steeling for a major confrontation. Tsewang Rigzin, president of the Tibetan Youth League based in Dharamsala in northern India, said Tibetan exiles are determined make Tibet a major international focus as the Olympics approach.
"We are taking chances. We know how the Chinese have treated Tibetans in the past," he said. "But with the spotlight on them with the Olympics, we want to test them. We want them to show their true colors. That's why we're pushing this."
Speaking by phone from Dharamsala, where Tibet's government-in-exile is based, Rigzin said Tibetan exiles were particularly annoyed at China's plans to take the Olympic torch to the top of Mt. Everest before the Games.
The world's highest mountain "belongs to Tibet, not China," Rigzin said. "They're trying to show the world Tibet is part of China, so we're shining a spotlight on the brutal occupation."
'Raising the issue'
Rigzin suggested that Tibetan protesters had expected a Chinese crackdown in Lhasa. "Freedom comes for a price," said Rigzin, a native of Washington state who moved to Dharamsala in October to take over his organization's presidency. "We realize we can't achieve our goals overnight, but we have to start raising the issue."
Rigzin has this week been participating in a protest march from Dharamsala to Lhasa, part of a series of international protests. Indian authorities, fearful the march could upset officials in neighboring China, on Thursday arrested more than 100 of the Tibetan exile marchers after they ignored protests not to leave the district around Dharamsala.
Facing similar protests in Nepal, police dispersed demonstrators in Katmandu.
The unrest in Lhasa began Monday with a march by 500 monks from the Drepung monastery. They were followed by protests from monks at the Lhasa-area Sera and Ganden monasteries.
Security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to Radio Free Asia, which also cited "authoritative sources in the region" to report that two monks from Drepung monastery "are in critical condition after stabbing their wrists and chests" in a show of protest. Evan Osnos reported from Beijing and Laurie Goering from New Delhi.
eosnos@tribune.com
lgoering@tribune.com
Dalai Lama says charges he behind Tibet unrest baseless
Fri Mar 14, 2008NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, said on Friday that Chinese allegations he was behind unrest in Tibet were "absolutely baseless".
China had earlier accused the Dalai Lama of acting as the "mastermind" behind protests that rocked the region on Friday.
"This is absolutely baseless and his holiness has made his stand very clear," said a spokesman for the Dalai Lama, contacted in the Indian town of Dharamsala by telephone.
"This is nothing new, China has been saying this so many times and this is actually baseless," said spokesman Chhime Chhoekyapa.
Chhoekyapa said Tibetan exiles living in Dharamsala were "shocked" by China's "strange" allegations.
"The ongoing protests have nothing to do with his holiness the Dalai Lama," he said.
As the Olympics approach, Tibetans are trying to reinvigorate their freedom movement and protest against what they see as China's illegal occupation of their homeland.
But some have distanced themselves from the politically moderate Dalai Lama, saying they want total independence and not limited autonomy.
The Dalai Lama earlier rejected a Chinese accusation that he was trying to sabotage the Olympics, saying he had always supported Beijing's right to host the Games.
The ongoing protests mark the anniversary of a 1959 uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule, which was crushed by the People's Liberation Army, driving the Dalai Lama into exile.
(Reporting by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Catherine Evans)
China had earlier accused the Dalai Lama of acting as the "mastermind" behind protests that rocked the region on Friday.
"This is absolutely baseless and his holiness has made his stand very clear," said a spokesman for the Dalai Lama, contacted in the Indian town of Dharamsala by telephone.
"This is nothing new, China has been saying this so many times and this is actually baseless," said spokesman Chhime Chhoekyapa.
Chhoekyapa said Tibetan exiles living in Dharamsala were "shocked" by China's "strange" allegations.
"The ongoing protests have nothing to do with his holiness the Dalai Lama," he said.
As the Olympics approach, Tibetans are trying to reinvigorate their freedom movement and protest against what they see as China's illegal occupation of their homeland.
But some have distanced themselves from the politically moderate Dalai Lama, saying they want total independence and not limited autonomy.
The Dalai Lama earlier rejected a Chinese accusation that he was trying to sabotage the Olympics, saying he had always supported Beijing's right to host the Games.
The ongoing protests mark the anniversary of a 1959 uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule, which was crushed by the People's Liberation Army, driving the Dalai Lama into exile.
(Reporting by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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