photo taken from http://www.savetibet.org/
This whole weekend my own affairs kept me away from reading about what was going on in the world. This resulted in my not hearing until only this morning about what happened in one of the places that interests me in this world: Tibet.
So, only this morning did I find out about the riots and the killings and the arrests and the blood once again shed in the streets of this sorely tried territory. As it turns out, on Friday violent riots erupted in the streets of Lhasa, Tibet, from Tibetans who oppose the chinese rule of their ancestral grounds, and, of course, of the hosting of the Olympic Games before all oppression has ended. According to the Tibetan government-in-exile*, at least 80 people have been killed during the clashes between the chinese authorities and the Tibetan protesters in Lhasa, on Friday. On its part, China has announced that the death toll reached “13 innocent civilians”.
Reading about it from Reuters, I read that Qiangba Puncog, government
chief in Tibet, claimed that “I can say with all responsibility we did not use lethal
weapons, including opening fire”, in their effort to stop the riots. I’m wondering how those people died.
The protests sprawled like a wave through towns and monasteries on the east part of the TAR (Tibetan Autonomous Region as it has been officially called since the mid ‘60s) as violence continued in the capital.
According to the International Campaign for Tibet, more than a thousand monks (get that? Monks have reached that point where they demonstrate in the streets! Buddhist monks are the most peaceful beings on the planet, maybe next only to butterflies, or trees!) “were joined by laypeople in a major protest at Kirti monastery and town in Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, which led to at least eight, possibly many more, people being killed, according to several sources”. Among these people there was a 15 year-old high school student. Eight bodies, according to eye witnesses, were on display outside the police station in Ngaba, in order to deter the population from further acts of protest. Reading at the ICT I learn that, “according to one eyewitness report, the paramilitary armed police had been carrying out drills in the town in a display of force which appears to have angered Tibetans. After a morning prayer ceremony, monks reportedly joined laypeople in a spontaneous protest, shouting slogans of Tibetan freedom and in support of the Dalai Lama before armed police fired into the crowd. An eyewitness report from the area said that the local government run hospital was refusing to treat the wounded.
A crackdown may now be beginning in the county town of Machu (Chinese: Maqu), Gansu province, after an estimated 1500 Tibetans gathered this morning, calling for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet and shouting pro-independence slogans. Some were carrying Tibetan flags and images of the Dalai Lama. Around 11 truckloads of armed police were seen approaching the protestors by one eyewitness, according to a new report received by ICT”.
Mind you, this is mid March, 2008. For those of you caught in this unprecedented time capsule.
“For those people who are still active or have committed serious crimes, we will deal with them harshly. If these people can provide further information about those involved, then they could be treated more leniently”, said Qiangba Puncog, according to Reuters. Become ruffiani (informers, I don’t know any word that would characterise these people, only the italian one) and we’ll spare your lives.
China has been long accused of violating human rights in Tibet (and not only in Tibet), with organisations all over the world pointing out cases of illegal imprisonments, torture, denying of basic human rights, like singing traditional songs, the disappearance of Tibet’s Panchen Lama and his replacement with a Chinese chosen one, beatings, destruction of properties and the list goes on forever.
New protests are erupting in the region as we speak, and this does not appear to lead to a peaceful ending. The Dalai Lama has said he fears about the reprisals that will follow the ultimatum issued by the chinese government to the Tibetans demonstrating all over Tibet, to surrender by midnight tonight. “These ultimatums are not the way to win the heart and minds of the Tibetan people”, said Mr. Chhime Chhoekyapa of the Office of H.H. the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama told the media that he had appealed to international leaders, including Chinese leaders, as well as his friends, to intervene so that the situation does not deteriorate.
The ultimatum asks for the Tibetan demonstrators to hand themselves in by midnight tonight. That has caused fear of a military sweep amongst Tibetans, and, particularly, amongst former political prisoners (the Chinese have seen to it that there’s a good number of those in the region) who are monitored regularly and viewed with suspicion by the chinese authorities.
China said that they have shown “great restraint” in the face of the protests, and have not used any weapons. I wonder what would happen if they hadn’t. Tienanmen square all over again? Oh, but wait, this is still in progress, right? And at midnight, I guess we’ll see what “tougher punishment” stands for in 2008.
Keep in mind that Beijing will host the 2008 Olympic Games. The Olympic Games stand for peace and unity amongst people, wars were paused and hatred forgotten during the ancient times while the Games were being held. More than 2,000 years later, China is controlling at least 4 regions that want to be freed, is violating basic human rights, has more executions than the rest of the world combined (yes, including Texas) and even more than that in secret, completely disregards the need for free information (reporters were “kindly” asked to leave Tibet when the riots began, and some of them were persecuted for false information. Plus there’s the whole Google/China/Tibet/human rights issue to consider), hiding of children (yes, I am talking about the Pancen Lama who was taken by the chinese authorities when he was only 6 years old and was never to be seen or heard of again) et al.
I’ll be following this closely and keeping everyone informed. Like it or not! :o)
*The Dalai Lama has fled Tibet and has formed the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. Read the wiki for more info.
