Asia-Pacific News
Monks face punishment for protest in front of journalists in Lhasa
Mar 30, 2008, 10:19 GMT
Beijing - The Tibetan monks who held a daring protest in front of a group of visiting journalists in Lhasa are to face punishment for their actions, informed sources said Sunday.
Officials in the Tibetan capital who hosted a brief visit by international diplomats shortly after the protest reported that no- one had asked what would happen to the monks, 'but whoever exhibits separatist tendencies will be punished according to the law.'
The quote came Sunday from sources who had been informed about the trip to Lhasa by diplomats from 15 embassies in Beijing.
The journalists had been told that the monks from Jokhang temple would not be harmed, but exiled Tibetan groups said that was doubtful.
The diplomatic delegation to Lhasa, which lasted less than 24 hours, was 'a very tightly but not very cleverly organized attempt to show the official Chinese point of view,' the sources said.
The diplomats made it clear that they 'were not satisfied with the show' and that China must allow more transparency.
At least one diplomatic source described the trip as 'a step in the right direction' in allowing more independent observers into Tibet.
Questions from the diplomats about the causes of the unrest and about the circumstances under which it was brought under control remained unanswered.
Officials in Lhasa stressed to the group that it was 'neither an ethnic nor a religious conflict.'
It was rather a separatist action 'by a handful of violence-prone troublemakers,' whom the officials described as 'wastrels and unemployed people,' the sources said.
At the same time, the officials stuck to the official line that the Tibetan spiritual leader and head of the government-in-exile, the Dalai Lama, was orchestrating the protests from outside the country.
One of the diplomats described this argument as incoherent.
In response to demands for proof that the Dalai Lama was behind the protests, the diplomats 'did not even receive the whiff of a concrete reply.'
The diplomats visited Jokhang temple in the heart of Lhasa briefly, but only managed to see one monk. They also visited a hospital and shops burnt out during the protests.
The sources said that the dismay of the victims of the March 14 riots, in which violent Tibetans set upon ethnic Chinese, looted their shops and set the buildings on fire, was nevertheless 'genuine' and 'not acted out.' The people had really been afraid, they said.
They also heard reports that the police held back on the day of the riots, which could have been a reason for the large extent of the damage to Chinese-owned property.
Asked why the security forces had not been prepared for the protests by the monks and for the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese in 1959, the leader of the district administration replied, 'I don't know anything about an anniversary.'
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Who believes the Chinese Government now? They are now putting weapons into the hands of Tibetan monks and saying that that is their evidence. What a bunch of crap?
I don't believe 'western' media anymore. They told me there is no religious freedom in China, but there I see on television all
these thousands of monks and all these temples and monks
in temples in Tibet! If there is no religious freedom in China, what were they, all actors?
They were very organized and very violent and dressed all in those orange Buddist robes, so they must have a lot of freedom to shoot off their mouths and organize themselves, so again, there must be a lot of freedom!!
Someone is teling HUGE lies to us, and so they must fear to tel us the truth, and they must have a very bad motive
You people are such liers, I don't trust you because you lied us into Iraq, and now so many poor Iraqis are so hurt and dead and
for NOTHING!. Now I read there is a book that shows that the
CIA funded Chalabi, that expatriot Iraqi who was all over our
television telling us that Hussein had nukes, and so you just lie and LIE and LIE and people are dying.
Many white citizens of the British Empire were fiery supporters of maintaining their hold over their colonies in the 20th century. They made racist comments about the 'coolies' & the natives, stated that their rule was 'beneficial' to the colonies, etc..
Sound familiar?
If the internet existed when the British gave independence to their colonies, there would be no difference in their comments when compared to the comments today of Han citizens of the Chinese Empire.
A regime with nothing to hide doesn't remove all independent reporters, indeed, all foreigners, from a location. This gives independent onlookers every reason to fear for the worst in the way of repression and human rights violations. People don't riot en masse if all is well, either. Obviously, the Chinese government has a great deal to hide. Blaming a prominent Buddhist monk for violence is, of course, absurd. For the Chinese government to demand that the the Dalai Lama forswear violence would be amusing if it weren't so tragic, as he forswore violence when he took his monastic vows, and preaches non-violence constantly in all venues. If some Tibetans have been pushed to the point of violence, that is an extra element of tragedy in the extensive abuses which have pushed this peaceful people to violate their religious traditions by engaging in violence. Despite the murders, beatings, torture, and decades of unjust imprisonment of nuns and monks in Tibet, many older Tibetans strove to restrain the younger Tibetans who are less confirmed in their Buddhist faith. The Chinese government has striven to stamp out Buddhism in Tibet, and we see the result-there are fewer committed pacifists in Tibet than there used to be. It is very sad that the Chinese government is unlikely to realize that they have created the conditions that are leading to rioting in Tibet, and that they are foolish indeed not to work with the Dalai Lama in restoring peace and harmony in Tibet.
I support the Tibetan people in their struggle for religious freedom and human rights. freetibet dot org
We can't wait for any longer. Let's do something real, people.
The U.S. should stand up for the Tibetan people and show the world that we are the true leader of freedom and democracy. We at the very least should re-open the CIA military training camp for the Dalai Lama's resistance fighters at Camp Hale near Leadville, Colorado.
We can ask Japanese to financially support the Free Tibet operation. Dalai Lama loves Japanese people. He endorsed a Japanese spiritual movement, 'Aum Shinrikyo', in 1980's-1990's.
We can also ask Germany for some substantial support from Europe. Germans had deep connections with Tibet in 1930's and 1940's. Dalai Lama's tutor in 1940's was Heinrich Harrer, a member of the 'Schutzstaffel'. These people are closely linked together. We can form a huge coalition force for sure to change Tibet back to Shangri-La.
China, a world power, a nation bestowed the privilege of hosting the prestigious Olympic Games, felled by a single exiled monk? Am I really supposed to believe that?
All over the net, I read comments by supposed Chinese, who I suspect are instead CCP lackeys, that 'the western media is making it all up.'
Even though China tries to have a stronghold on what news comes out of Tibet by FORBIDDING foreign media reporters from coming into the area, THE WHOLE WORLD CAN SEE WHAT CHINA IS DOING.
China is George Orwell's living 1984. Where all the people are supposed to take the Ministry of Truth's word at face value, and reality is stored in double-think and/or thrown down the memory hole.
China may have its own people snowed, but do they think the rest of the world is STUPID?
Get a life China! We know who you are!
Murderers of the worst kind! The rest of the world can see you!
page: 1
JoeMar 30th, 2008 - 11:56:03
When will the Tibetan Exile government stop putting actions into the Chinese authorities hand. The Tibet deputy governor already said no actions will be taken against those monks, yet the media is quick to publish unverified reports from the International Campaign for Tibet and Radio Free Asia, a CIA funded organization.
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