Thread: Tibet : Part 4

Chinese Regime Implicated in Staging Violence in Lhasa
Epoch Times[Tuesday, March 25, 2008 06:12]


Witness identifies policeman who played part of 'rioter'
By Qin Yue and Qi Yue - Mar 22, 2008



This is a cropped copy of the photo released by the Chinese Embassy purporting to show a Tibetan with a knife taking part in a riot.

Evidence has emerged of the Chinese regime having staged violence in Lhasa in order to discredit the peaceful protests of Buddhist monks.

According to the Dalai Lama's Chinese translator, Ngawang Nyendra, a witness has reported that a Chinese policeman in Lhasa disguised himself as a Tibetan and joined the protesters holding a knife in his hand. This witness also recognized the man from BBC news footage and news photos provided by China.

A Chinese woman from Thailand (who prefers that her name not be used) was studying in Lhasa when the protests broke out in March. As one of her friends is a policeman, she visited him at the local police office quite often and got to know other policemen there.

After the protests on March 14, she and other foreigners were sent to the police office where she saw a man with a knife in his hand walking in with some arrested Tibetans. The man later took off the Tibetan-style clothes and put on a police uniform.

This woman was sent out of Lhasa with other foreigners the next day. When she arrived in India via Nepal, she recognized the policeman she had seen in Tibetan garb from BBC TV news and photos that the Chinese embassy had provided to the media.


This is the uncropped photo with a Chinese policeman in disguise holding a knife, distributed to news media by the Chinese Embassy.

Ngawang Nyendra said the witness was shocked when she saw the policeman in the BBC broadcast. She realized then that the man had disguised himself as a Tibetan in order to incite people to riot.

The witness contacted a Tibetan organization in India and told them what she had seen. At a rally on March 17, the organization publicized a news photo originally provided by the Chinese Embassy in which the policeman appeared as a Tibetan rioter.

The Chinese embassy provided two batches of photos to the media, one issued before that rally and one afterwards. In the batch issued after that rally, the policeman in disguise had disappeared from photos taken at the same scene in which he had previously been visible.

Ngawang Nyendra said, "This photo with this man in it was sent by the Chinese embassy to BBC and Radio Free Asia. The other photo was sent out later. They are exactly the same except the man has disappeared from the second photo.

"From the TV news footage, you can see this man attempting to stab other people with a knife. But in later shots you can't find this person any more. They were acting. After people raised questions about these shots, this footage never appeared on TV again."

This is not the first time that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sent policemen to act as rioters in civilian protests to stir up violence and frame the protesters. In his Events in Lhasa March 2-10, 1989 , the Chinese journalist Tang Daxian revealed the CCP's intrigues in suppressing the 1989 protests in Tibet.

According to the book, a few days after the Tibetans' peaceful protest, the CCP authorities sent out many special agents and plainclothes police disguised as civilians and monks to create a scene of rioting. They burnt sutra pagodas, broke into and robbed grain stores and other stores, and inspired other people to loot. After that, the army and police started a bloody crackdown.

In this year's protest, the riot scene was quite similar to that of 1989. A group of young men in their twenties acted in a well organized way. They first shouted slogans, then burnt some vehicles near the Ramoche Monastery, and then broke into nearby stores and robbed them, and finally burnt scores of the stores.

The actions seemed well planned and coordinated, and were conducted with skill. At the crossroads near the Ramoche Monastery, someone prepared in advance many stones of a similar size, each weighing a couple of kilograms. These stones magically escaped the attention of numerous policemen and plainclothes agents who flooded the city. Then it was only "natural" that large numbers of army, police and armored vehicles arrived and opened fired to "save the day."

phayul.com

China should resume the dialogue process with the Dalai Lama:Sarkozy
Phayul[Tuesday, March 25, 2008 05:51]
by Tenam

Paris 24 March: As the French President called on the Chinese government to show restraint and to resume the dialogue process with the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibetans and French supporters kick started a week long rally in front of the French Foreign Ministry.

snip

phayul.com



Amnesty International Activists Among Arrested in Nepal
Phayul[Monday, March 24, 2008 23:19]
By Tenzin Choephel


Tibetans being taken away to police station in Katmandu Nepal

Katmandu March 24 -In separate incidents, Nepal Police arrested over 400 Tibetans from Bouda, Pulchowk and Maitighar in Kathmandu today. Heavy security forces have been deployed in Bouda, Swayambhu and Jwalakhel, where many Tibetans live, since early morning.

snip

phayul.com



Tibetan government-in-Exile says Tibetan death toll had risen to 140
Phayul[Monday, March 24, 2008 23:16]
By Phurbu Thinley

Dharamsala, March 24: Tibetan Government-in-Exile based in India said today that the Tibetan death toll from the demonstrations in Tibet had risen to 140 and further released the names and details of 44 identified people killed during the brutal crackdowns by Chinese Government.

snip


CONFIRMED LIST OF INDIVIDUALS KILLED DURING RECENT DEMONSTRATIONS IN TIBET
(as on March 24, 2008)

S. No. NAME AGE PLACE OF RESIDENCE/BIRTH DETAILS
1 Phurbu 37 Lhasa Died on 14 March in Lhasa
2 Sonam Norbu 27 Derge, Karze "TAP" Died on 14 March in Lhasa
3 Azin around 30 Palyul Died on 14 March in Lhasa
4 Sonam Lhamo 21 Palyul Died on 14 March in Lhasa
5 Dhargye 22 Damshung, Lhasa Municipality Died on 14 March in Lhasa
6 Kunchok Samphel 21 Damshung, Lhasa Municipality Died on 14 March in Lhasa
7 Lhakpa Tsering 21 Lhasa Died on 14 March in Lhasa
8 Thupten Tsering 24 Lhasa Died on 14 March in Lhasa
9 Tenzin Samdup 39 Lhasa Died on 14 March in Lhasa
10 Rigzin Choenyi 26 Shugseb Nunnery Died on 14 March in Lhasa
11 Lobsang Tsepel 31 Sera Monastery Died on 14 March in Lhasa
12 Ngodup 28 Tibet University Died on 14 March in Lhasa
13 Lobsang Dolma 23 Guru Monastery Died on 14 March in Lhasa
14 Ngawang Thekchen 20 Taklung Drak Monastery Died on 14 March in Lhasa
15 Dhondup Dolma 19 Student Died on 14 March in Lhasa
16 Dechen Dolma 57 Lhasa Drashi Died on 14 March in Lhasa
17 Phurbu Tsamchoe 20 Lhasa Died on 14 March in Lhasa
18 Tashi Dorjee 22 Nagchu, Nagchu Prefecture Died on 14 March in Lhasa
19 Tashi Tsering Bathang County, Karze "TAP" Died on 14 March in Lhasa
20 Kalsang Yeshi Markham, Chamdo Prefecture Died on 14 March in Lhasa
21 Penpa 29 Toelung, Lhasa Municipality Died on 14 March in Lhasa
22 Tenzin (female) 20 Toelung, Lhasa Municipality Died on 14 March in Lhasa
23 Jinpa Phenpo Died on 15 March in Phenpo
24 Thokmey (monk) Karze, Karze "TAP" Died on 23 March evening in Lhasa
25 Ngogha Karze, Karze "TAP" Died on 18 March in Karze
26 Jamyang/Jampel Karze, Karze "TAP" Died on 18 March in Karze
27 Tashi Gyaltsen 18 Karze, Karze "TAP" Died on 18 March in Karze
28 Tsedup Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
29 Tashi Wangchuk Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
30 Gegyam Soruma, Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
31 Gephen Thaklo Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
32 Norbu Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
33 Lotse Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
34 Ngodup Tso Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
35 Atisha around 25 Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
36 Sangye Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
37 Tsezin Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
38 Gonpo Lhagon around 30 Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
39 Pelkho Ngapa, Ngapa "TAP" Died on 16 March in Ngapa
40 Rinchen Machu County Died on 18 March in Machu



Cite : http://www.tibet.net/en/flash/2008/0308/excel.xls



One shot dead and another in critical condition in Drango protest
TCHRD[Monday, March 24, 2008 21:04]

According to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), at least one Tibetan protester was shot dead and another left in critical condition following indiscriminate firing by the People's Armed Police on the protesting Tibetans in Drango County, Kardze "Tibet Autonomous Prefecture" today afternoon.

At around 2:00 pm (Beijing Standard Time), a peaceful protest was initiated jointly by the monks of Chokri Monastery and nuns of Ngyoe-go Nunnery of Drawo Township, Drango County (Ch: Luhuo Xian), Kardze "Tibet Autonomous Prefecture" ("TAP"), Sichuan Province, in eastern Tibet which was later joined by the common citizens of Drawu Township. Around 200 protestors headed towards the township government headquarters chanting slogans "long live the Dalai Lama", "Independence for Tibet" and "freedom for Tibet".

snip

phayul.com

New Clash in Tibet Area
By AUDRA ANG / AP WRITER / BEIJING
Tuesday, March 25, 2008


A deadly clash erupted between protesters and police in a Tibetan area in China's west, state media and a rights group said Tuesday, as the country's top police official called for stepped-up "patriotic campaigns" in monasteries to boost support for Beijing.

The demonstration in Garze, a prefecture in Sichuan province, started Monday as a peaceful march by monks and nuns, but grew violent when armed police tried to suppress the crowd, which ballooned to about 200 after residents joined in, the Dharmsala, India-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.


Chinese soldiers patrol on a street in Lhasa of Tibet on March 23.
(Photo: Reuters)

China's official Xinhua News Agency said the protesters attacked police with knives and stones, killing one policeman. The Tibetan rights group said one monk died and another was critically wounded after security agents fired live rounds into the gathering.

It was not possible to immediately confirm either claim. Officials who answered telephone calls Tuesday at police and government offices in Garze either denied anything had happened or said they had not heard of such reports.

Garze borders Tibet, where several days of anti-government protests led by monks spiraled into violence on March 14 in the capital, Lhasa. Demonstrations in support of the Lhasa protests have since burgeoned rapidly throughout provinces surrounding Tibet.

The latest unrest in Garze indicates that Tibetan defiance is still running strong a week after thousands of Chinese troops fanned out to patrol areas outside of Lhasa and clamp down on fresh conflicts.

The uprising is the broadest and most sustained against Chinese rule in almost two decades and the communist leadership has accused Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and his supporters of masterminding the dissent. The government says at least 22 people have died in Lhasa while Tibetan rights groups say nearly 140 Tibetans were killed, including 19 in Gansu province.

Meng Jianzhu, the minister of public security, ordered Tibet's security forces to remain on alert for further unrest and said "patriotic education" campaigns would be strengthened in monasteries, according to the Tibet Daily newspaper.

"The Dalai clique refuses to give up their evil designs, and even in their death throes are planning new acts of sabotage," Meng was quoted as saying Monday during a visit to Lhasa, referring to Dalai Lama and his supporters.

Meng was the first high-level central government official to visit since protests began in the Tibetan capital on March 10, the anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Unrest among Tibet's Buddhist clergy has been blamed in part on compulsory "patriotic education" classes, widely reviled by monks for cutting into religious study and forcing them to make ritual denouncements of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Despite such complaints—and repeated government claims that all Tibetans support the Chinese government's stance—Meng said the campaign should be broadened as part of efforts to "grasp and direct public opinion in the correct direction."

"Deeply enact propaganda education in ethnic and religious policies and the legal system among all the temples," Meng said. "Let all people at home and abroad and all ethnic groups thoroughly understand the true facts of the matter, and seize the initiative in the propaganda battle."

In photos accompanying the article, Meng was shown touring damaged shopping streets, meeting with elderly monks and congratulating police on a job well done.

Also on the trip was Zhang Qingli, Tibet's hard-line Communist Party leader, who said the region was in the front lines of a battle with the Dalai Lama and his followers. "From start to finish, we face a prolonged, extreme, complex struggle," he said.

Zhang, who has been in his position for almost three years, is known for his inflammatory statements. Speaking last year in Beijing, Zhang proclaimed that "the Central Party Committee is the real Buddha for Tibetans." The continued Tibetan resistance and the hard-line stance by officials has put China's human rights record under the spotlight and has frustrated the communist leadership, which is hoping for a smooth run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

Authorities have promised tight security during the August 8-24 Games and China's segment of the Olympics torch run.

The flame-lighting ceremony in Greece on Monday was disrupted after protesters unfurled a black banner with handcuffs used to symbolize the five Olympic rings as the president of Beijing's Olympics organizing committee was giving a speech.


No mention of the disturbance was mentioned in reports in Chinese state-run media. The English-language China Daily newspaper on Tuesday gushed in a headline: "A perfect start on the road to gold."

The flame, which is due in the Chinese capital at the end of the month, will be taken through Tibet and to the top of Mount Everest—a move that has upset Tibetan activist groups, which accuse Beijing of using the event to convey a false message of harmony in the troubled Himalayan region.

China has banned foreign journalists from traveling to the protest areas, making it extremely difficult to verify any information. This week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to take a small group of foreign reporters to Lhasa, though it is unclear how much freedom they will be given.

The Tibet Daily said that 13 people were formally arrested in Lhasa on Monday in a March 10 protest outside the Jokhang temple, Tibet's most sacred shrine. The 13 chanted "reactionary slogans" and carried a "reactionary flag," the newspaper said, indicating the snow-lion flag of independent Tibet.

In Aba, another Sichuan county, Xinhua said 381 people involved in protests had surrendered to police as of Monday. Aba is where state media said police shot and wounded four rioters in self-defense on March 16, the first time the government has acknowledged shooting any protesters.

In Garze, protesters chanted "Long live the Dalai Lama" and "Independence for Tibet" as they marched toward the government headquarters in Drawu town, said the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy.

Soon, a large number of armed paramilitary police and public security officers appeared on the scene and a clash ensued, with Chinese security forces "firing live ammunition indiscriminately," the group said.

An 18-year-old monk was killed and another 30-year-old monk was critically injured, it said.

Xinhua said one police officer was killed and several were wounded.
"The police were forced to fire warning shots, and dispersed the lawless mobsters," Xinhua quoted an unidentified local official as saying. The agency did not say whether any civilians were injured.

A woman who answered the phone Tuesday at the Garze prefecture government office denied there had been a clash.

Other police, government and Communist Party offices in Garze and Luhuo county, which oversees Drawu, refused to confirm that the incident occurred.

irrawaddy.org

Ramoche monk dies from starvation as tight restrictions continue in Monasteries
Tuesday, 25 March 2008, 4:25 p.m.

Since the start of the Demonstrations in Tibet on March 10, there has been an increasingly strong military and police presence in and around the premises of all the monasteries (that have had some involvement in the recent demonstrations in Tibet).

Military and People's Armed Police (PAP) have blocked off water, electricity, food and health facilities in monasteries (including Sera, Drepung and Gaden) that have had active involvement in the recent demonstrations in Tibet.

Since March 14, in Ramoche Monastery (Lhasa) Chinese military presence has been a regular scene, as they have completely surrounded the monastery premises and blocked of all exit and entry points. As a result of these tight restrictions, getting regular food and water supplies has been a huge problem for the monastery and on March 24, Thokmey (a monk from Ramoche) died from starvation as confirmed from a reliable source. From time to time, the military have been firing tear gas inside the Monastery premises.

Pressing issues (such as shortage of food and water, restrictions on movement, lack of medical facilities and tear-gas use by the military) are being faced by many monasteries in Tibet. While we can confirm that such problems are widespread and prevalent, it is proving extremely difficult to get details on specific incidences (such as the one at Ramoche monastery) due to all the restrictions that have been placed by the Chinese authorities.


Bathang (Ch: Batang) County and Derong (Ch: Derong) County, Karze "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture," Sichuan province - China attempts to win over hearts and minds of Tibetans.

In Batang and Derong Counties, the Chinese Government has given around 20,000 Yuan to each of the monasteries and also has provided 300 kgs of rice to individual households. It’s interesting to note the irony since on one end as China continues to kill peaceful Tibetan demonstrators (death toll rising almost by the day), on the other end, it is trying to win over the Tibetans.

(The Official Website of the Central Tibetan Administration is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.)

tibet.net

Death toll rise to 79, over 1200 arrests and more than 100 disappear in Tibet
TCHRD[Wednesday, March 26, 2008 11:51]

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has been closely monitoring the situation inside Tibet particularly since 10 March 2008 when the first peaceful protest led by Tibetan Buddhist monks broke up in Lhasa on the 49th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day.

For the past more than two weeks, the exact figures on the number of arrest, death, injury or disappeared from the violent crackdowns during protests in various parts of Tibet is difficult to ascertain due to various circumstances such as censorship of information, lack of immediate and on the ground assessment, absence of third party fact finding mission and free media reporting in Chinese administered Tibet. However, TCHRD has been able to filter considerable information based on eyewitnesses accounts, evidences and information given to the Centre by brave and conscious Tibetans inside Tibet. The information available to TCHRD has been reported to various human rights monitoring organizations, media and concerned UN bodies after our meticulous research and verification.

According to eyewitnesses' accounts and testimonies received by TCHRD, so far at least 79 Tibetans are known to have died as a direct result of brutal crackdown by the Chinese security forces. Over 1200 Tibetans have so far been arrested under various circumstances and around more than 100 Tibetans disappeared. The figure of death, arrest, and disappearance cases of Tibetans are mounting each day with more information surfacing from Tibet.

Following the issuance of public notice by the "TAR" law enforcement authorities viz, Higher People's Court, the People's Procuratorate and the regional Public Security Bureau (PSB) on 15 March for protesters to give themselves in before midnight of 17 March, the state-run official mouthpiece, Xinhua, stated that, over 170 Tibetans "surrendered" in Lhasa city by 20 March (7:00 PM Beijing Standard Time). Another 94 Tibetans "surrendered" in Phenpo Lhundup County, Lhasa Municipality, "TAR" according to the official mouthpiece report released on 19 March.

Around 16 March 2008, Lhasa PSB officers arrested Ngawang Namgyal, a former political prisoner and a former monk of Drepung Monastery, from his residence during mid night raid on alleged charges of 'inciting and supporting the Lhasa protest'. There is no further information on the condition of his well being at the moment.

On 20 March, the Lhasa City PSB has issued a "wanted" list of 21 people as the main instigators or offenders of the recent string of protests in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. Of which the photo identities of 14 people including monks were issued. There has been no information whether they have been arrested or are still at large.

The official mouthpiece, Xinhua, also claimed that over 381 Tibetans have so far "surrendered" in Ngaba County (Ch: Aba Xian), "TAP", Sichuan Province, after the issuance of "surrender notice" on 20 March 2008 which was jointly issued by the law enforcement authorities of Kanlho (Ch: Gannan) "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture'" ('TAP') Intermediate People's Court, Procuratorate, and Public Security Bureau. According to sources within Tibet, many protestors especially the monks, who were involved in the peaceful protest in Ngaba County have fled their monasteries and home to avoid arrest by the security forces which has been hunting down the protesters and ransacking their homes at will. Many of people from the area were known to have disappeared since the protest broke out on 14 March.

TCHRD doubts the very nature of "surrender notice" issued by the Chinese authorities in "TAR" and non -"TAR" areas of Tibet. TCHRD believes "surrender is a willingness on the part of person who surrender under normal circumstance and not under the duress, threat by the authority in power by inducing in the minds of people that if they do not surrender, they would suffer far more serious repercussions'. Therefore, the Centre considers the issuance of public notices to surrender protesters as "threat in disguise" to intimidate and create fear psychosis on the minds of highly suppressed people of the region.

As of today, around 645 Tibetans from various parts of Tibet have "surrendered" to the Chinese authorities following the official issuance of surrender notice. Of which only few were known to have been released without formal charges. Given China's past record in dealing with suspects in custody, TCHRD expresses its deepest fears that those who "voluntarily surrendered" or were arrested following demonstrations in various parts of Tibet are expected to face intense interrogation and grilling session in detention centres. It is highly probable that the detainees will be dealt with torture and extreme inhumane treatment in the detention centres to extract confession and related information. Torture is endemic and a regular feature in the network of Chinese administered prisons and detention centres. TCHRD is highly concerned about the well being of those arrested after the recent protests, particularly those suspected of being the 'instigators' and fears that the authorities will adopt extreme measures to curb the Tibetan sentiments in order to evade international criticism on her appalling human rights record in Tibet.

The Chinese authorities should guarantee free and fair trial for those who were arrested, who gave themselves in or detained following the protest. With total absence of legal representations, due process and other legal procedures, it is highly certain that many fundamental human rights of Tibetan detainees will be violated.

According to information, hundreds of military trucks, tanks and personnel have swamped the entire area of Lhasa, northeastern parts of Tibet particularly in Ngaba County, where maximum number of protests, arrest and death were registered.

TCHRD will submit the cases of those Tibetans killed, arrested and disappeared in Tibet to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and its relevant thematic mandates for urgent action. TCHRD appeals to the international community to urgently show their solidarity and act for the arrested peaceful Tibetan protesters and innocent arrestees.
phayul.com

Protest erupts after prayer for deceased in Drango County
25 March 2008 [Press Release]

Following a peaceful protest in Drango County (Ch: Luhuo xian), Kardze "TAP", Sichuan Province, on 24 March 2008 which resulted in the death of one Tibetan and another left in critical condition after People's Armed Police (PAP) fired indiscriminately into the protesting crowd, the monks of Drango Gaden Rabten Nampargyalpeling Monastery organized a special prayer session for the deceased in the morning of 25 March.

According to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), at around 8:00 AM (Beijing Standard Time) on 25 March, the dead body of the 18-year-old monk, Kunga, who was shot dead in the protest a day before was brought to Drango Gaden Rabten Nampargyalpeling Monastery in Drango County by monks for a mass special prayer session. After the prayer, around 10 AM (BST) more than 400 monks of the monastery decided to hold a solidarity peaceful protest against the Chinese rule and at the same time vowed to stand up and support each other in case if death or detention occur to any of the monks during protest. The monks in their complete monastic robes proceed with their plan by raising slogans "Dalai Lama should return to the rightful throne in the Potala Palace", "Release Panchen Lama", "Stop current repression in Tibet" and "Independence and Democracy for Tibet."

The protesters headed towards the county headquarters, but were blocked by PAP and Public Security Bureau (PSB) forces stationed on the bridge in between the county government headquarters and the monastery. The protesting monks managed to push forward with their march although forcibly obstructed by the Chinese security forces. The monks joined by some lay people proceeded with their protest march and shouted slogans, when the protesters reached the County Market square, the security forces started firing live ammunitions and blocked all alleys of county market. In short time, protesters lay down on the road to avoid bullet fire and shouted for the protesters to stand together. Though few agitated protesters hurled stones at the military trucks during the protest, however, senior monks present in the protest stopped them from doing so. The monks continued with their protest shouting slogans for a couple of hours before being ruthlessly crushed by additional forces of PAP and PSB. According to sources within Tibet, the protesting monks rushed back to their monastery. At the moment situation in the area is known to be very tense with every possibility of protesting monks and laypeople getting arrested.

The present condition of Tsewang Dhondup, 30-year-old monk who was injured after being shot by Chinese security forces is known to be critical. There has been no information about injury and casualty in yesterday's incident.

TCHRD strongly condemns the violent crackdown on the peaceful Tibetan protestors by the Chinese security forces. This incident is yet another proof to expose China's claims that they are dealing with the Tibetan protestors in a 'restrained manner'. TCHRD urges the Chinese authorities to immediately put an end to violent and brutal crackdown on the peaceful Tibetan protestors and respect the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people enshrined in the Chinese constitution.

tchrd.org

‘China alarmed over rising support’
Times Of India[Wednesday, March 26, 2008 15:47]
By Indrani Bagchi

New Delhi, March 26 - Global strategic analyst Stratfor believes that Beijing was disturbed by the sight of Pranab Mukherjee and Condoleezza Rice jointly addressing the Tibet issue in Washington.

“Alarm is rising in Beijing that the US, India and other nations — including the UK — are actively supporting the Dalai Lama in an attempt to force policy changes in China. Protecting its territorial integrity is of utmost concern to China... Beijing is hypersensitive to real or perceived threats, always assuming the worst about outsiders’ motives,” global strategic analyst Stratfor said.

“India’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to seek refuge in northern India in 1959 has perturbed the Chinese government ever since. Beijing believes India could control him more effectively if it wished to — and as New Delhi has in the past — but is simply choosing not to,” it added.

In India though, China plays a unique “divide” card — wooing Congress, while treating the UPA government with thinly veiled contempt. A delegation from the Communist Party of China’s international cell visited Congress headquarters here to propose a seminar in Beijing at the end of 2008 to commemorate 20 years of Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China in 1988. The leader of the delegation, Li Jinjun, also formally proposed that Rahul Gandhi head the Indian delegation. While there was little mention of Manmohan Singh’s visit to China, there were glowing references to Sonia Gandhi’s trip.

Over the weekend, the EU parliament made its first call for a limited boycott of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Its president, Hans-Gert Pottering, told a German daily, “If there continue to be no signals of compromise, I consider boycott measures to be justified.” The only other European leader to endorse this has been French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, but this call has received little traction from around the world. Back home, MEA’s silence on China’s arrogant behaviour with Indian diplomats is attributed to India’s traditional diffidence towards the Chinese. This is the second diplomatic aggression by the Chinese towards India in the last few months after China protested against the PM’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh in February.

Last time, India stuck to an anodyne statement about Arunachal being an integral part of India. MEA, caught off balance by China yet again, will wait for the foreign minister and the foreign secretary to return from Washington before taking a position.

phayul.com

Tashi Lhunpo monks defy huge police presence to launch fresh protest
By Phurbu ThinleyPhayul[Wednesday, March 26, 2008 20:50]

Dharamsala, March 26: About a dozen monks from one of the most important monasteries in Tibet have defied a huge police presence to try and stage a street demonstration in Tibet’s second larget city, according to a media report from Beijing.

The monks from the Tashi Lhunpo monastery, the religious seat of the influential Panchen Lama, managed to make their way onto a city street on Monday, the report quoted local residents as saying.

According to the report, Paramilitary People’s Armed Police quickly moved in to prevent the group from marching through the town of Xigaze (Tib: Shigatse).

The latest protest in the city adjoining Lhasa comes despite huge deployment of police throughout the town following massive demonstrations against China’s rule over Tibet through the capital, Lhasa, on March 14.

The demonstration by the monks was so brief that they barely had time to shout the slogans demanding the return of the Dalai Lama that have been a feature of nearly two weeks of unrest across ethnic Tibet areas, the report said.

The residents of Xigaze told Times Online of increased patrols in the town since then.

Residents also reportedly said monks had tried several times over the past few days to demonstrate but had been turned back.

Monks wanting to leave the monastery must now sign a book giving a reason for going out. Visitors are being encouraged not to go there for the time being even as the monastery remains open to pilgrims and the public, residents said.

The report did not specify if there had been any arrest following the repeated demonstration attempts made by the monks.

phayul.com

Tibet monks disrupt tour by journalists to complain about lack of religious freedom
2008-03-27

A group of Tibet monks have disrupted a tour by foreign reporters to Lhasa to complain there is no religious freedom and that the Dalai Lama is not to blame for recent violence there.

A group of about 30 monks disrupted a carefully stage-managed visit Thursday to the Jokang Temple in Lhasa by foreign reporters. They yelled "Tibet is not free. Tibet is not free."

They also said their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, had nothing to do with recent anti-government riots by Tibetans in Lhasa, where buildings were torched and ethnic Han Chinese were attacked. Government handlers tried to pull the journalists away when the monks protested.

The government has said the March 14 riots were supported by "the Dalai clique."

axilltv.com

Foreign journalists find Tibetan city divided
AP[Thursday, March 27, 2008 06:26]


LHASA, China - Nearly two weeks after anti-Chinese riots and an ensuing crackdown, helmeted paramilitary police with batons checked identification papers in Lhasa's old Tibetan quarter Wednesday, even as the government said the city was returning to normal.

The first group of foreign journalists allowed into the Tibetan capital since soon after the riots got an often carefully monitored glimpse of a city divided. While police presence was visible but not overbearing in the newly built up and heavily Chinese portions of Lhasa, teams of security forces stood in the lanes near the sacred Jokhang Temple.

Two Tibetan teachers drinking in a nearby bar said they were enjoying a first night out after nighttime curfews kept them at home eating mainly tsampa — roasted barley — since the day after the March 14 riot. One reason the curfew was loosened, they said, was the foreign media visit.

An acrid odor hung in the blocks near the old city where rows of burned out buildings stand as evidence of the violence. Many shops were closed, some from a lack of business, others from looting that left their migrant Chinese owners with little to sell.

"People are leaving because there's no business," said Jin Zhenman, a South Korean who came to Tibet to study traditional Buddhist painting and now runs a sundries shop.


Trying to contain damage

China rarely allows foreign reporters into Tibet under normal circumstances, so the media tour underscores the communist leadership's determination to contain any damage ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August that was supposed to celebrate China as a modern, rising power.

Asked to comment on the reporters' trip, the Dalai Lama — the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetans — called it a "first step." He said he hoped the trip would take place "with complete freedom."

The rioting and four days of protests that preceded it were the worst anti-Chinese demonstrations in Lhasa in nearly two decades, and they sparked protests in Tibetan areas across a vast portion of western China.

Chinese state media and officials said Wednesday that more than 660 protesters have surrendered in Lhasa and in Sichuan province, site of at least two violent confrontations between police and Tibetan protesters.

The Chinese government has maintained its response was measured and comparable to what any responsible government would do when faced with civil unrest.

That message underlined much of the official program put on for the roughly two dozen American, European, Middle Eastern and Asian reporters from the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Financial Times, Japan's Kyodo News Agency, KBS of South Korea, and Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

"The situation in Lhasa is returning to normal," Liu Xuan of the Tibetan Information Office told the reporters. The Potala — the Dalai Lama's former palace and a tourist attraction — was reopened Wednesday for the first time since the violence.


Police checkpoints, monitoring

But police in the Tibetan old city checked ID papers at twilight, letting only residents into the narrow alleys, and by 10 p.m. the area seemed deserted except for the police. Patrols of a dozen police with helmets and shields marched on the streets.

Police at checkpoints stopped cars. While they waved the foreign reporters through, a Chinese taxi driver said Tibetan passengers are pulled out and searched.

The foreign reporters were frequently monitored, and even followed. The bus ride from the airport seemed purposely slow, taking nearly 90 minutes to travel 40 miles in an apparent effort to soak up time despite pleas from the reporters to speed up.


Pursued by government minders

Journalists were monitored most of the time during the first day of their visit but did venture outside without minders for several hours. However, several cars followed the journalists at one point and a cab driver who took journalists around the city was questioned afterward by authorities.

When the motorcade stopped beyond one of three checkpoints seen on the airport roadway, several reporters hurried toward the police chased by government minders.

Five uniformed police stopped cars. Officer Cunluobu, who like some Tibetans uses only one name, said the post was set up March 14 — the day of the rioting — and they were checking for "people not wearing seat belts, for violating traffic rules and for having fake licenses."

Aside from the monitoring, a clash of expectations soon emerged between the officials and the foreign reporters. The officials from Beijing and the Tibetan government emphasized the violence of what is known as "the 3-14 beating, smashing, looting and burning incident."


Video stresses security forces' restraint

Reporters were shown an extended version of video of the violence that has been replayed on state television. It pointed out that rioters targeted not just Chinese and their businesses but also Chinese Muslims known as Hui. The video stressed the security forces' restraint.

"The armed police did not use lethal measures," the narrator said. "Only shields and batons were used."

The government says at least 22 people have died in Lhasa, most of them "innocents" killed by rioters, while exiled Tibetan rights groups say 140 Tibetans have died in the crackdown across western China.

Liu and other officials present declined to answer questions from reporters about the suppression and the causes and events leading up to the protests. They deferred until interviews arranged for Thursday.

But the video and the extent of damage visible on Lhasa's streets showed how Tibetan protesters targeted many of the symbols of Chinese rule. They torched police stations, fire trucks and a Bank of China. The video showed a charred signboard from a Communist Party office.


'Harmonious' banner, burned-out stores

On Qingnian, or Youth, Road — one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, a ceremonial arch was draped with a red banner with the latest party slogan "Build a Harmonious Society." On either side stood burned-out, two-story storefronts.

Shops were closed on the road, but from the windows above or the steel gates over the doors hung traditional white ceremonial scarves — an apparent signal to rioters that the places were Tibetan, not Chinese.

President Bush called China's President Hu Jintao on Wednesday and raised concerns about the crackdown in Tibet.

Bush encouraged Hu to engage in "substantive dialogue" with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the White House said. The president also called on China to allow access for journalists and diplomats in Tibet.

phayul.com

...................................

Updates on Tibet Demonstrations - 26 March Wednesday, 26 March 2008, 5:59 p.m.


26 March 2008
Tight restrictions continue in Lhasa


Tsuglagkhang temple and Barkhor (area surrounding the Tsuglagkhang) continue to remain sealed by the military.

Shops (except a few Chinese owned) remain closed in the Lhasa area.
Parents escorting their children to school are being forced to return to their homes.


Drakgo (Ch: Luhuo) County, Karze "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture," Sichuan province - Chinese military and police forcefully takes away dead body of Chokri Monastery Monk and has it cremated nearby. More arrests after peaceful demonstration.

Monks from Chokri monastery (Drakgo County) are being forced by Chinese authorities to leave the monastery. Nuns from Nang-gong nunnery continue to be arrested. However, many of the nuns have managed to escape from being arrested.

Houses and Monasteries in Drago County are being searched belligerently by the Chinese military.

The whereabouts of many monks and laypeople’s are unknown.

On 24 March, monks, nuns and laypeople from Tehor Township (Drakgo County) and surrounding areas held a massive protest during which Kunga (monk from Chokri monastery, aged 21) was shot and killed by the Chinese military. The military tried to take his body away; however, the protestors collectively were able to hold onto his body and hid it in a safe spot. On March 25, the Chinese military and police forcefully took the body of Kunga from the monastery and has it cremated nearby.

When the monks from Chokri monastery held prayers for the deceased monk, they also took the opportunity to hold a protest since a sizable group had already gathered at the scene. The protest grew in size and intensity, especially after they were joined by many laypeople. The protestors on their way to the County government headquarters were stopped by a huge number of Chinese military.

In their attempt to end the protest, the military fired shots into the air. However, the protestors held their resolve and continued to protest. When the situation grew tensed with guns being pointed at the protestors, then, the monks and laypeople formed a human-barricade with each of the protestors lying flat on the road. The protest ended that afternoon after monks and laypeople decided to leave the scene on their own terms. Details for number of arrests, killed or injuries sustained during the protest are currently not available.

From 25 March evening, Chokri monastery has been surrounded by Chinese military and few people have been arrested.

They are:
1) Khetsun Chok (the former abbot of Chokri monastery)
2) Sherab (monk from Jangchup ling village)
3) Tashi (monk from Gorong village)
4) Few nuns from Nangong nunnery.


25 March 2008

Body of Ramoche Monk returned to family; Chinese authorities provide no explanation on cause of death

As reported earlier, due to the tight restrictions, getting regular food and water supplies has been a huge problem at Ramoche monastery (among many others) and on 24 March, Lobsang Thokmey (a monk from Ramoche) died as a result.

Chinese authorities returned the body of Lobsang Thokmey to his family on 25 March. However, they have not provided an explanation for the cause of death.

Tsegor (Ch: Xinghai) Thang County, Tsolho "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture" Qinghai province - Hundreds hold protest in front of County government headquarters.

Starting around 10AM, Tibetans from Holkha Township (Tsegor County) held a massive protest in front of the County government headquarters. The protest lasted till around 1PM in the afternoon.

During the protest, a banner (in Tibetan) read "Peace, Democracy, Freedom and solidarity with martyrs." Another banner (in Chinese) read, "Stop repression in Tibet."

(The Official Website of the Central Tibetan Administration is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.)

China says Tibet monks won't be punished
Fri Mar 28, 2008
By John Ruwitch

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will not punish a group of Tibetan monks for disrupting a government-organized foreign media tour of Lhasa and voicing support for the Dalai Lama, a senior official said in a bid to allay fears of repercussions.

Baema Chilain, vice-chairman of the Chinese-controlled Tibet Autonomous Region, also said "separatists" were planning to disrupt the Olympic torch relay in Tibet.

However, he pledged to ensure the flame's security there and on its planned ascent of Mount Everest, the state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday

snip

reuters.com

Over 100 monks arrested by Chinese police after a raid in Ngaba Kirti Monastery:
ReportPhayul[Friday, March 28, 2008 18:56]

Dharamsala, March 28: Over a hundred monks have been arrested from the Ngaba Kirti Monastery in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County in Sichuan Province following a raid by Chinese People’s Armed Police (PA) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) this afternoon, according to Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

TCHRD said it received confirmed information of a raid conducted by Chinese police and security bureau in the monastery leading to arrest of some 100 monks.

Unrest in Ngaba County since 15 March, were some of the most dramatic protests by Tibetans, mainly led monks from the Kirti monastery, outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR).

At least 23 Tibetans have been reportedly killed and hundreds were critically injured and many more were arrested as Chinese authorities resorted to violent crackdown to quell the peaceful Tibetan demonstrators demanding independence for Tibet.

16-year-old schoolgirl Lhundup Tso was among the Tibetan protesters killed in Ngaba County when Chinese police opened fire on March 16, 2008. She was reportedly shot in the back of the head.

According to TCHRD, hundreds of PAP and PSB came to Ngaba Kirti Monastery earlier this morning and dispersed people, mostly devotees and visitors gathered around the monastery compound, and ordered surrounding shops to be shut down.

Police later carried out sudden and through raid in each and every monk’s room; looking out for any incriminating documents and ransacking any portrait of the exiled Tibetan Leader, the Dalai Lama, before arresting several monks from the monastery, TCHRD’s report said.

Following is an extract from TCHRD’s report of today’s incident in Tibet:

At around 12 noon (Beijing Standard time), PAP and PSB forces stormed into Ngaba Kirti Monastery, in Ngaba County (Ch: Aba Xian), Ngaba "TAP" Sichuan Province. At first the PAP and PSB forces barred the monks of Ngaba Kirti Monastery from venturing out of their rooms, followed by a sudden raid carried out in each and every monk's room, ransacking any portraits of the Dalai Lama and looking for any incriminating documents. At around 5:00 PM (Beijing Standard Time) at least a hundred monks were known to have been forcibly taken away by the armed forces to Ngaba County PSB Detention Centre after the raid. The current atmosphere inside the Kirti Monastery is known to be very tense and volatile.

According to the latest information from Tibet, sandbag barricades were erected by People's Armed Police (PAP) around the Kirti Monastery and surroundings area to curb the fresh outbreak of protest by the local residents of Ngaba County.

TCHRD condemns in strongest terms the Chinese security forces’ highhandedness in dealing with monks by arbitrarily arresting monks without formal charges and ransacking the monastic institution.

phayul.com


...................................


Czechs, Poland leaders to boycott Olympic opening
ABC NEWS[Friday, March 28, 2008 17:43]
By Europe correspondent Rafael Epstein

Leaders from the Czech Republic and Poland have declined invitations to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, in protest of recent crackdowns on Tibetan protesters.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus says those who voted to give the Games to China should now not be surprised by the recent trouble.

"China is what it is," he said.

Mr Klaus and some Czech ministers will boycott the ceremony.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk questioned whether world leaders should attend, given China's conduct.

"The presence of politicians at the Games' inauguration seems inappropriate," he said.

Mr Tusk says he will try to convince other European Union countries that they should speak out more strongly on the issue of Tibet.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is currently visiting London, repeated that he may also boycott the ceremony.

But British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he will be attending.

phayul.com

Update for Saturday, March 29, 2008, last updated 2pm (IST) Re: Tibet demonstrations

29th March, 2008
Lhasa - Massive protests erupt again after many days of suppression.

Around 2 PM (local time) in the afternoon, Tibetans gathered for a protest in front of Ramoche Monastery, Lhasa. Also, nearby, in front of Tsuglag-khang (Jokhang) temple and Beijing East road, protests were started, and thousands joined into the protests within no time.

These protests are happening after many days of intense suppression, where we witnessed Chinese armoured vehicles and tanks being brought in to forcefully stop the protests.


Massive "Patriotic-re-education" campaign started

Chinese authorities have stepped up the "Patriotic re-education" classes in regions beyond the "Tibetan Autonomous Region" ("TAR").
Particularly in monasteries all over Tibet, "Patriotic re-education," has been strictly implemented.

Over 100 senior officials have been sent to various prefectures and counties to lead the "patriotic re-education" campaign.

Due to lack of officials needed for the massive "patriotic re-education" campaign, retired members of Public Security Bureau (PSB), People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and People’s Armed Police (PAP) have been called upon to assist.

The former PSB, PLA and PAP members were told to dress in monk-robes and assist the "work teams" for "patriotic re-education" classes in monasteries. They were told that their pension and other benefits would be increased for the services rendered. However, the former PSB, PLA and PAP members declined the offer, and were especially reluctant to deceitfully dress up as monks, as confirmed by a reliable source.

tibet.net


...................................

Chinese Regime Implicated in Staging Violence in Lhasa—UPDATED
With reporting by Stephen Gregory and Hao Feng
Epoch Times[Saturday, March 29, 2008 17:29]
By Qin Yue and Qi Yue
Updated March 28

Witness identifies policeman who played part of 'rioter'

This is the uncropped photo with a Chinese policeman in disguise holding a knife, distributed to news media by the Chinese Embassy.

Evidence is accumulating that the Chinese regime orchestrated violence in Lhasa in order to discredit the peaceful protests of Buddhist monks.

According to the Dalai Lama's Chinese translator, Ngawang Nyendra, a witness reported that a Chinese policeman in Lhasa disguised himself as a Tibetan and joined the protesters holding a knife in his hand. This witness also recognized the man from BBC news footage and news photos provided by China.

A Chinese woman from Thailand (who prefers that her name not be used) was studying in Lhasa when the protests broke out in March. As one of her friends is a policeman, she visited him at the local police station quite often and got to know other policemen there.

After the protests on March 14, she and other foreigners were sent to the police station where she saw a man with a knife in his hand walking in with some arrested Tibetans. The man later took off the Tibetan-style clothes and put on a police uniform.

This woman was sent out of Lhasa with other foreigners the next day. When she arrived in India via Nepal, she recognized the policeman she had seen in Tibetan garb from BBC TV news and photos that the Chinese embassy had provided to the media.

Ngawang Nyendra said the witness was shocked when she saw the policeman in the BBC broadcast. She realized then that the man had disguised himself as a Tibetan in order to incite people to riot.

The witness contacted a Tibetan organization in India and told them what she had seen. At a rally on March 17, the organization publicized a news photo originally provided by the Chinese Embassy in India in which the policeman appeared as a Tibetan rioter.

This is a cropped copy of the photo released by the Chinese Embassy purporting to show a Tibetan with a knife taking part in a riot.

On Xinhua and other Chinese-language Web sites friendly to the regime, after the rally at which the witness spoke, the policeman in disguise had disappeared from photos taken at the same scene in which he had previously been visible. Recently, the original man-with-the-knife photo has returned to these Web sites.

Ngawang Nyendra said, "This photo with this man in it was sent by the Chinese embassy to BBC and Radio Free Asia. The other photo was sent out later. They are exactly the same except the man has disappeared from the second photo.

"From the TV news footage, you can see this man attempting to stab other people with a knife. But in later shots you can't find this person any more. They were acting. After people raised questions about these shots, this footage never appeared on TV again."

Other Evidence

The main claim of the dramatic story told last week by the Dalai Lama's translator—that the Chinese regime incited the riots in Lhasa—has lately found corroboration from other sources.

There is first of all the Chinese regime's track record of staging this kind of deception.

This is not the first time that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sent policemen to act as rioters in civilian protests in Tibet to stir up violence and frame the protesters.

This is a copy of the picture of the same scene in Lhasa but with the man with the knife now missing, which was distributed after the man's identity was revealed at a rally in Darmasala.

In his "Events in Lhasa March 2-10, 1989", the Chinese journalist Tang Daxian revealed how the CCP orchestrated violence as part of a plan to suppress the 1989 protests in Tibet.

According to the article, "On the dawn of March 5, the Armed Police in Tibet received the action order from the Chief Commander of Armed Police headquarter, Mr. Li Lianxiu.…The Special Squad should immediately assign 300 members to be disguised as ordinary citizens and Tibetan monks, entering the Eight-Corner Street and other riot spots in Lhasa, to support plain-clothes police to complete the task.

"Burn the Scripture Pagoda at the northeast of Dazhao Temple. Smash the rice store in the business district, incite citizens to rob rice and food, attack the Tibet-Gansu Trading Company. Encourage people to rob store products, but, only at the permitted locations."

According to the commentator Mr. Chen Pokong, "In this year's protest, the riot scene was quite similar to that of 1989. A group of young men in their twenties acted in a well organized way. They first shouted slogans, then burnt some vehicles near the Ramoche Monastery, and then broke into nearby stores and robbed them, and finally burnt scores of the stores.

"The actions seemed well planned and coordinated, and were conducted with skill. At the crossroads near the Ramoche Monastery, someone prepared in advance many stones of a similar size, each weighing a couple of kilograms. These stones magically escaped the attention of numerous policemen and plainclothes agents who flooded the city."

Mr. Chen's account of what happened this year is corroborated by the British high-tech spy agency GCHQ, whose satellites observed Chinese police incite the riots in Lhasa, according to a report in the G2 Bulletin.

These accounts also help make sense of puzzling aspects of a report in the New York Times on the scene on the streets of Lhasa on March 14.

According to the NY Times, "Foreigners and Lhasa residents who witnessed the violence were stunned by what they saw, and by what they did not see: the police. Riot police officers fled after an initial skirmish and then were often nowhere to be found."

"One monk reached by telephone said other monks noticed that several officers were more interested in shooting video of the violence than stopping it. 'They were just watching,' the monk said. 'They tried to make some videos and use their cameras to take some photos,'" according to the NY Times.

The publication of the photo of the man with the knife by Xinhua and its distribution by the Chinese Embassy, as reported by the Dalai Lama's translator, would be consistent with this monk's observation.

Meanwhile, the Tibetans continue to assert that the Chinese regime has been hoodwinking the world about what happened during the protests in Lhasa.

30 young monks broke into a press briefing behind held on Thursday by the Chinese regime in Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. According to USA Today reporter Callum MacLeod (as reported by Reuters), the young monks shouted, "Don't believe them. They are tricking you. They are telling lies."

phayul.com

Thanks sincerely, Mid, for all the updates. I've been a passionate advocate of a free Tibet for decades. My 'Free Tibet' web site (and my entire domain) was one of the first banned - when China started blacklisting web sites - about 16 years ago. I wish I could do more at this time. I know if I were a Tibetan in Tibet, I'd be as active as possible - tho I might likely have been killed or get tortured in a Chinese prison. If there were oil wells there shipping to the US, Uncle Sam would send in the Marines.

It's inevitable the US and China will fight again. It's only been 50 years since they last faught in N.Korea. I don't say that hoefully or with glee, I say that as an inevitability - though it's more likely to get triggered over Taiwan Straights. as Taiwan is a lot bigger deal economically than Tibet. I, for one, would like to see the Chinese dragon's snout bloodied.

New Protests Erupt in Lhasa
RFA[Sunday, March 30, 2008 06:48]

KATHMANDU- Witnesses in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, say fresh protests erupted there Saturday afternoon despite a massive Chinese police and paramilitary presence.

Witnesses told RFA's Tibetan service that several hundred Tibetans rallied around 2 p.m. on March 29, beginning in the area near Center Beijing Road. Shops near the central post office on Lhasa Youth Road were closed, as security forces surrounded the Tibetan residential areas in Barkhor, Kama Kunsang, Ramoche, and the Jokhang temple.

"People were running in every direction," one witness said. "It was a huge protest, and people were shouting."

Another source who declined to be identified reported seeing "fistfights" but she didn't give details. The protest continued for several hours but no further details were immediately available.

"The local government is now sending mass text messages using local cell phone companies to spread the word that the situation is now under control and people shouldn't be influenced by divisive-sounding news and gossip," another source said.

The March 29 protest coincided with a day-long visit to Lhasa by foreign diplomats, who came at the invitation of Chinese authorities. It also follows a closely scripted visit to Lhasa by foreign reporters.

No comment was available from Chinese authorities, and details of how Chinese police and paramilitary forces responded were unavailable.

phayul.com

Soldiers appear to have been issued with monks' robes.
Photo: source currently unknown

full story here :

CCP'S MEDIA MANIPULATION

The saga of the Chinese government's media manipulation continues. The Chinese language exile media outlet, Epoch Times has more on the story reported here last Tuesday, including these photographic proofs of the government's apparent realisation that it had been caught.

snip

agamsgecko.blogspot.com

Rights group says Tibetan monk believed to have been tortured following rare protest dies
Monday, April 4

BEIJING — A rights group says a Tibetan Buddhist monk tortured after a 2008 protest in China has died of complications from his ordeal.

The Washington D.C.-based International Campaign for Tibet says 37-year-old Jamyang Jinpa died Sunday.

The group said in a news release late Monday that Jamyang Jinpa had been recovering at home for the past three years but is believed to have died of internal injuries suffered during his torture.

Paramilitary police arrested Jamyang Jinpa at his monastery in Gansu province on April 9, 2008, but it’s unclear who oversaw his detention. The protest there was part of a wave of anti-government demonstrations.

Calls to police and the local government in Xiahe county where the monastery is located rang unanswered Tuesday.

washingtonpost.com

Patriotic reeducation forced on Kirti monks before 800 Chinese officials
Kalsang Rinchen
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Dharamsala, April 19 - With almost a week since tension started brewing in Tibet’s Ngaba county amid heavy reinforcement of troops into the Kirti monastery last Tuesday the Chinese authorities in the county have subjected the monks to rigorous sessions of “Patriotic Reeducation Campaign” on Saturday, a Tibetan source with contacts in the region told phayul.

The gathering was attended among others by head of the Ngaba Prefecture United Front Work Department, a Chinese government body that is entrusted with the job to liaison with overseas Chinese.

The source said at least 800 government officials from Ngaba County and Zoege County took part in the sessions that lasted for several hours on Saturday. Unlike the usual sessions, each monk was forced to stand in front of the gathering and speak as authorities asked questions during the “Patriotic Reeducation” sessions.

According to the source, the UFWD head said the monks did not give satisfactory responses to questions posed to them during the sessions, adding that it might prolong the stay of the Chinese Work Team officials in the monastery.

The UFWD head accused the monks of hindering the social stability of Ngaba region since the protests in 2008 and vowed stringent actions against those responsible for causing “inconvenience” to the residents of Ngaba, the source said.

Monks are barred from leaving their quarters after 8PM turning the monastery virtually into “a jail filled with monks”, according to the source. The in-house dispensary of the monastery, which provides medical facilities to the monks, has also been shut down.

The authorities have completed the construction of boundary walls around the monastery making it a lot easier for them to control the monks who now can exit the monastery only from the 3 main gates which are constantly guarded by armed soldiers and police, the source added. Soldiers and police randomly enter monks’ quarters and ransack them. At least a hundred monks have gone missing or are unaccounted for in Ngaba County since March 16, 2011, according to figures released by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

The situation around Kirti Monastery, one of the most prominent monasteries in Ngaba region, has remained tense following the death of a Tibetan monk Phuntsok, who set himself ablaze in protest on March 16 - marking 3 years since Chinese armed forces cracked down heavily on Tibetan protesters in the region in 2008.

Meanwhile, the students of the Ngaba Prefecture Upper Middle School who sat on hunger strike from March 17 in protest against the Chinese government following Phuntsok's death are still locked up in the school, the same source said.

While urging the monks and Tibetans to be peaceful, the Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, Kirti Rinpoche, the patron of Kirti monasteries and the Tibetan government in exile have called for restraint in dealing with the tense situation in Ngaba Kirti monastery.

phayul.com

First images from Ngaba out, situation still tense
Kalsang Rinchen
Wednesday, April 20, 2011

People's Armed Police and plain-clothed police on Ying Xiong Avenue near the main market in Ngaba Town, around 5pm on 16 March 2011, just after protests took place following Phuntsok's self-immolation/
FTC/File

Dharamsala, April 20 – As China denied reports of tensions in Tibet’s Ngaba including Kirti monastery, an exile based right group has acquired what it claims to be the first pictures from the area and said the situation on the ground is far from what Chinese government’s spokesperson described at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

People's Armed Police on Ying Xiong Avenue on 16 March 2011,
FTC/File

London based Free Tibet Campaign said the images acquired by it confirm eye witness accounts of plain-clothed police, armed police and the deployment of riot police onto the streets of Ngaba town and check points manned by the army.

Stephanie Brigden of FTC said the so-called patriotic re-education campaign in Kirti monastery violates not only the right to freedom of religion but also the right to freedom of thought. “The image showing an army check-point outside Kirti monastery testifies that ‘local social order’ is far from normal as Beijing would like the international community to believe.”

Checkpoint controlled by the army in front of Kirti Monastery on 19 March 2011, the day Phuntsok was cremated/
FTC/File

Meanwhile, a Tibetan source with contacts in Ngaba told phayul that the monks of Kirti monastery continue to be subjected to rigorous sessions of patriotic reeducation campaign by Chinese work team officials as hundreds of armed soldiers and police stand vigilant in and around the monastery. He said Chinese work team officials accompanied by around 10 armed soldiers patrol the monks’ living quarters randomly asking questions to the monks who often were manhandled or beaten up.

The source said local Tibetan civilians numbering around 200, mostly senior citizens, have been camping near a road close to the monastery since last Tuesday despite being threatened by Chinese soldiers to leave. “The Tibetans mostly above the age of 60 were keeping a close watch on the soldiers to ensure that no monks are taken away from the monastery,” he said, adding that more troops are camping on grasslands near Meoruma township, Raru township and Chashang township since April 12, when Chinese troops being brought into Kirti monastery had confrontation with local Tibetans outside the monastery.

A Tibetan monk named Lobsang Gelek, 27, was detained from the monastery on April 8 and his current whereabouts are unknown, said the source.

Monks of other monasteries in Ngaba are also being locked up an their movements are strictly being monitored, said the source.

The situation around Kirti Monastery, one of the most prominent monasteries in Ngaba region, has remained tense following the death of a Tibetan monk Phuntsok, who set himself ablaze in protest on March 16 - marking 3 years since Chinese armed forces cracked down heavily on Tibetan protesters in the region in 2008.

phayul.com

Originally Posted by Mid

The situation around Kirti Monastery, one of the most prominent monasteries in Ngaba region, has remained tense following the death of a Tibetan monk Phuntsok, who set himself ablaze in protest on March 16 - marking 3 years since Chinese armed forces cracked down heavily on Tibetan protesters in the region in 2008.

https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...ates-self.html (Tibet : Ngaba monk immolates self)

Another Ngaba monk arrested
Kalsang Rinchen

Dharamsala, April 21 – Chinese authorities in Tibet’s Ngaba County have arrested yet another Tibetan monk of Kirti monastery where Chinese work team officials have been stationed to carry out “Patriotic Reeducation Campaign,” said a source. Tsering, a 24-year-old monk of Ngaba Kirti monastery was arrested from the monastery a few days ago and his current whereabouts are not known.

The monks of Kirti monastery continue to be subjected to rigorous sessions of patriotic reeducation campaign by Chinese work team officials as hundreds of armed soldiers and police stand vigilant in and around the monastery.

Chinese work team officials accompanied by around 10 armed soldiers patrol the monks’ living quarters randomly asking questions to the monks who often were manhandled or beaten up, said the source. He said that some monks have even seen Chinese officials clandestinely planting microphone inside monks’ living quarters during rounds.

The monks of the monastery were warned against disclosing the proceedings of the Patriotic Reeducation Campaign to people outside the monastery. “They were threatened with strict action if they told about it even to their parents and family members,” he added.

In a move to depict the situation as being normal and "harmonious", the source said the Chinese authorities opened up the monastery’s locked temples containing prayer wheels that usually were spun by local Tibetan civilians cicumambulating the temples. “Since none turned up to spin the prayer wheels or circumambulate the temples, the authorities lured passersby with 30 Yuan each and took pictures of them spinning prayer wheels and doing rounds of the temples.”

Meanwhile, the same source said the Tibetans arrested in Ngaba County since March 16 are believed to have been taken to various detentions centres in nearby counties of Ngaba “Tibet Autonomous Prefecture”.

phayul.com