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Beijing steps up Tibet security
China has imposed a heavy police presence on areas celebrating the Tibetan new year, which started yesterday and could be the first of several flashpoints in the autonomous region during the next month.
The 15-day celebration, called Losar, is usually one of most festive times for Tibetans, but this year there has been an underground campaign to boycott celebrations in memory of those killed during the wave of protests in the region last year.
Chinese officials have been worried about the potential for unrest round other sensitive dates, including the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising against the Beijing government that led the Dalai Lama to flee into exile on March 10 1959. Beijing has named March 28 "Serf Emancipation Day", a new holiday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the official dissolution of the Tibetan government that was led by the Dalai Lama.
Analysts say the pre-emptive security clampdown indicates Beijing's lack of confidence that it can predict and prevent protests.
The Chinese authorities say they are responding to an increased risk of crime in the region. There were reports yesterday that explosives had been found under a bridge in Tibet.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Dalai Lama said Tibetans should not respond to the "provocation" of the security build-up.
The campaign to boycott the new year, which Tibetan activists describe as civil -disobedience, has been building for several months. The authorities have countered with aggressive propaganda efforts, including a four-hour spectacle on Tibet television on Tuesday evening with 800 performers. The Xinhua news agency published a report yesterday entitled: "Jubilant Tibetans embrace coming new year".
Diplomats and reporters who have recently visited Tibetan areas say there is support for the boycott, although there is also plenty of opposition, including from shops and other service businesses for whom the holiday is a peak period.
The region last year witnessed the biggest outbreak of anti-Beijing protests in several decades, with unrest spreading to more than 50 towns in Tibet and Tibetan populated districts in the neighbouring provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai. The unrest culminated in a riot in Lhasa on March 14 when Han Chinese residents were targeted.
According to Beijing, 19 people, including a policeman, died in the riot. Tibetan exiles and human rights groups say the death toll during the protests was much larger.
The security build-up has been particularly intense in Lhasa, capital of the Tibetan autonomous region. According to Human Rights Watch, authorities have set up a detention centre near Lhasa and held several thousand people for short periods.
For the past three weeks there have been reports of a heavy military police presence in Xiahe, the Gansu province town that was the site of a large protest last March, but residents yesterday said the town was not closed off to foreign visitors. There have also been reports of large-scale security measures in the Aba and Ganzi prefectures in Sichuan.
Beijing steps up Tibet security
China has imposed a heavy police presence on areas celebrating the Tibetan new year, which started yesterday and could be the first of several flashpoints in the autonomous region during the next month.
The 15-day celebration, called Losar, is usually one of most festive times for Tibetans, but this year there has been an underground campaign to boycott celebrations in memory of those killed during the wave of protests in the region last year.
Chinese officials have been worried about the potential for unrest round other sensitive dates, including the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising against the Beijing government that led the Dalai Lama to flee into exile on March 10 1959. Beijing has named March 28 "Serf Emancipation Day", a new holiday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the official dissolution of the Tibetan government that was led by the Dalai Lama.
Analysts say the pre-emptive security clampdown indicates Beijing's lack of confidence that it can predict and prevent protests.
The Chinese authorities say they are responding to an increased risk of crime in the region. There were reports yesterday that explosives had been found under a bridge in Tibet.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Dalai Lama said Tibetans should not respond to the "provocation" of the security build-up.
The campaign to boycott the new year, which Tibetan activists describe as civil -disobedience, has been building for several months. The authorities have countered with aggressive propaganda efforts, including a four-hour spectacle on Tibet television on Tuesday evening with 800 performers. The Xinhua news agency published a report yesterday entitled: "Jubilant Tibetans embrace coming new year".
Diplomats and reporters who have recently visited Tibetan areas say there is support for the boycott, although there is also plenty of opposition, including from shops and other service businesses for whom the holiday is a peak period.
The region last year witnessed the biggest outbreak of anti-Beijing protests in several decades, with unrest spreading to more than 50 towns in Tibet and Tibetan populated districts in the neighbouring provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai. The unrest culminated in a riot in Lhasa on March 14 when Han Chinese residents were targeted.
According to Beijing, 19 people, including a policeman, died in the riot. Tibetan exiles and human rights groups say the death toll during the protests was much larger.
The security build-up has been particularly intense in Lhasa, capital of the Tibetan autonomous region. According to Human Rights Watch, authorities have set up a detention centre near Lhasa and held several thousand people for short periods.
For the past three weeks there have been reports of a heavy military police presence in Xiahe, the Gansu province town that was the site of a large protest last March, but residents yesterday said the town was not closed off to foreign visitors. There have also been reports of large-scale security measures in the Aba and Ganzi prefectures in Sichuan.
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Re: Bejiing steps up security during Losar
Fri, February 27, 2009 - 4:01 PMwww.rfa.org/english/news...09163337.html
Tibetan Monks in Protest March
2009-02-26
Buddhist monks in Qinghai stage a march and protest at the start of a somber Tibetan New Year.
DHARAMSALA—More than 100 Tibetan monks in China’s western Qinghai province have marked the Tibetan New Year, Losar, with a peaceful march protesting Chinese government policies, residents and exiled Tibetans say.
“On Feb. 25, the first day of Tibetan Losar, the monks of Lutsang monastery in Mangra [in Chinese, Guinan] county in the Tsolho [in Chinese, Hainan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture marched in protest,” a Mangra resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Once they reached the Mangra county center, they presented a list of demands to the county officials,” the man said.
Details of the demands were unavailable, he said, though he described the march as “peaceful” and aimed at upholding the “identity and aspirations” of Tibetans.
Tibetans have largely boycotted traditional Losar festivities this year in memory of Tibetans killed and jailed in protests against Chinese rule throughout the region last year.
A former Lutsang monk, speaking from New York and citing contacts in Mangra, said the march began at 6:30 a.m. More than 100 monks took part, gathering first in small groups, he said.
“[They marched] from the Lhamo Yongdzin shrine to the Mangra county center, a distance of about one mile.”
Four demands
Monks from Lutsang monastery march to county government building in the early morning hours, Feb. 25, 2009. Photo: Voice of Tibet
“The monks had four main demands and wishes,” he said.
“First, China should understand the aspirations and thoughts of the younger Tibetan generation. Second, China should understand that this year’s boycott by Tibetans of Losar celebrations could be more widespread than last year’s protests.”
“Third, the monks have offered their protest and a candlelight vigil as a gift to all Tibetans everywhere,” he said. “And fourth, they pray for the wishes of Tibetans to be fulfilled.”
The monks observed their vigil for about 30 minutes and then dispersed at the urging of Tibetan community leaders and senior officials of the monastery, said another former Lutsang monk, now living in India.
On Feb. 27, the local Public Security Bureau office posted a notice calling on leaders of the march to surrender to Chinese authorities and threatening to deal “severely” with those who fail to turn themselves in, another source said.
“I have just learned that Lutsang monastery is now surrounded by a force of the People’s Armed Police,” the source added. “No one is allowed to enter or leave the monastery.”
Calls seeking comment from the Mangra Public Security Bureau office rang unanswered.
