In solidarity, Tibetans march with prayers in Tsolho
With severe restrictions placed on communication lines by the Chinese authorities, further information on the peaceful political dissents are hard to come by, however, a few brave and courageous Tibetans despite being aware of the grave risk have sent first hand information substantiated with pictures. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) received exclusive fresh pictures depicting peaceful Tibetan solidarity march in Holkha Township on 25 March. According to confirmed information received by the TCHRD, on 25 March, hundreds of Tibetans from all walks of life including monks in Holkha Township staged a peaceful solidarity march at the main market square of the Township. The marchers were calling for an immediate end to the brutal crackdown on the Tibetan protesters in Lhasa and series of Tibetan protests in other parts of Tibet. In a unique display of their support for those who have lost their lives and were injured in recent protests, many marchers were seen carrying traditional prayer wheels in their hands while reciting prayers (Mani Mantra) and others holding a huge banner bearing text written in Tibetan and Chinese, that reads: Peace, Democracy. We mourn and pray (mani mantra) for our people who lost their lives. The marchers finally ended their procession at the Holkha Township government headquarters where they held a sit-in protest and recited prayer throughout the day. Although PAP and PSB officials were seen in their combat gear during the entire peaceful solidarity march, there was no report of arrest or detention of Tibetan marchers that day.
According to sources, following their arrest in the early morning raid on 26 March, more than 600 Tibetans from nine villages under Holkha Township staged a peaceful sit-in protest in front of Township government headquarters demanding immediate release of those arrested. The protesters sat for the entire day demanding the authorities to heed their demand. After a daylong protest, the protesting crowd finally dispersed after township authorities agreed to secure their releases. The sources confirmed that protesters pledge to undertake a similar protest at the government headquarters if authorities fail to deliver their promise. Although there was no report of protest by Tibetans on 27 March in Holkha Township, yet at around 3 PM (Beijing Standard Time) hundreds of additional PAP and PSB officials in military trucks were flooded into the market place to check a further outburst of protest by Tibetans. Military troops in several rows were seen patrolling the streets of Holkha Township. Later that day, four people, Malle and Tsekyab Gyal both male in their late 20's from Holkha Township and two Tibetan businesswomen from other parts of Tibet were arrested by the security forces for unknown reason. There is no information on the location of their detention. The present atmosphere in Holkha Township is known to be very tense with heavy presence of military forces. TCHRD expresses its serious concern over the prevailing circumstances in many parts of Tibetan inhabited areas and urges the Government of the People's Republic of China to allow protesters to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, opinion and peaceful assembly, to refrain from excessive use of force, and to ensure those arrested are not ill-treated and are accorded due process in line with international standards. Δείτε και Αυτό... 'Life and death struggle' in TibetLive coverage of the latest news on the unrest in Tibet March 19, 2008 9:36 AM China described the protests in Tibet as a "life and death struggle with the Dalai clique" as pro-Tibet protests spread across the world and calls for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics increase. Scroll down and refresh for updates, reaction and your chance to comment 9.45am The Dalai Lama met Tibetan exile groups frustrated at his soft line on independence, according to Reuters. Worldwide protests over China's crackdown are spreading, according to AFP on Tibet Daily. 10am The English-language Chinese mouthpiece the China Daily prints details of a report on last week's unrest in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. It portrays the unrest as a criminal riot. It says: "At least 373 business people and 32 enterprises had reported damages from the riot, with losses exceeding 99.1 million yuan (about $14 million) as of Tuesday night, according to the regional department of commerce." The report quotes Ragdi, a Tibetan official, who said: "The rioters' cruelty has aroused huge indignation among the people. We have sufficient evidence proving that the Lhasa riot was instigated, planned and organised by the Dalai clique." 10.15am He writes: "Virtually everything we hear about Tibet comes filtered through one of two very well-oiled propaganda machines: one in Beijing, the other in Dharamsala (where the Dalai Lama maintains Tibet's government-in-exile). Even in the best of times, independent reporting on the place is both rare and restricted. Now? It's anybody's guess what's really going on." He links to the Economist, which has the only accredited foreign journalist in Llasa. But ominously James Miles does not seem to have filed today. Yesterday he wrote of how his attempts to cover the situation were being blocked by the authorities. To follow what happened yesterday and and the day before go here and here. If you known anyone in Tibet or have spotted some interesting news sources, please let us know. 10.30am The post gives a health warning about such claims but asks: "Aren't Tibetans supposed to take the high road?" 10.45am 11.10am It said: "The protestors headed towards the Township government headquarter in the main market area where protesters brought down the Chinese national flag and hoisted the banned Tibetan national flag in its place." 11.15am 11.30am 11.45am Midday The BBC World Service reports large troop reinforcements have been seen heading for Tibet. More than 400 troop vehicles were witnessed by the BBC's correspondent on the border. 12.05pm "The premier told me that, subject to two things the Dalai Lama has already said - that he does not support the total independence of Tibet and that he refrains from violence - he would be prepared to enter a dialogue with the Dalai Lama," Brown said. 12.20pm The unrest is referred to as an "infection of mad cow disease", the Tibetans as "Yaks" and the Chinese as a "tractor battalion". This appears to tally with a report in Wired which claims that "enterprising bloggers" are evading Chinese filtering systems by "deliberately misspelling words that China's censors have deemed troublesome". 12.50pm "More than two hundreds Tibetan nomads and farmers are staging a peaceful demonstration at the Township public primary school compound. The protesters are demanding that unless Chinese security forces abandon the planned arrest of the Tibetans they will continue to stage the protest. The present situation at Ma Ngoe Township is known to be very tense and volatile." 1pm 2.25pm 3.20pm 4pm The post says: "If he is still in Lhasa, it would be good to get some insight into the recent events. If he was sent out of Tibet, that too would be an important news in itself - an indicator of things to come. There is very little news coming out from there that we can really trust." 4.40pm He writes: "Tibet is in commotion, people's life in danger. Looting and shooting and destroying have been on street. The situation there climbed to the front pages of many foreign papers. But when I walked in, through the massive gate of Great Firewall of China to the domestic blogshpere, I found the turmoil and gory images largely gone, a wind of peace, richness and harmony greeting me." 4.50pm 5pm For more news and analysis on the situation in Tibet, including video and audio reports and an interactive guide, click here. CommentsComments are now closed on this entry. I want the Guardian's editorial team to explain why what is happening in Tibet is characterised in the paper as a "riot" rather than a "demonstration" or an "uprising". Is Tibet not illegally occupied, under international law? Does this not give the Tibetan people the right to resist? Calling this resistance "a riot" is playing into the hands of the Chinese government. "Rioters" are giving themselves up to the Chinese government - what a way to describe a ruthless military crackdown on heroic opponents of this disgraceful regime. Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. Re: Previous comment. All reference to riot or rioters, of which there were 4 in total, refer to comments or decriptions of events in Tibet made by the Chinese Government. Most were used within quotation marks which in standard English usually means someone else said it. This is another example of people grabbing onto facts and words and coming up with an inaccurate view of the what is happening in the world. Who needs political bias in newspapers when readers can't even read properly. Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. 'The Dalai Lama met Tibetan exile groups frustrated at his soft line on independence' It's not that the Dali Lama is taking a soft line on independence, he just doesn't want to encourage protest that he himself would repress if his own autocratic regime was installed. 'The Pope has stepped in. He called for dialogue and tolerance between Chinese and Tibetans, according to AP. "With violence you don't solve problems but make them worse"' Another religious autocrat. Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. I'm pleased to hear that Gordon Brown has urged China to end the violence in Tibet. However there needs to be greater pressure from the IOC (International Olympic Committee). In the Olympic Charter there are six 'Fundamental Principles of Olympism' one of these being: "Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement" If that is not a justifiable reason to increase pressure on the Chinese government, then in my opinion it completely nullifies the whole Olympic message. Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. Why is Tibetans more important than Iraquis and Afgans who are being mercilessly killed? Only, in that after 5 years the subject is not topical, except in memory! Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. Ipsy, who said Tibetans WERE more important than Afghans and Iraqis?! I think you should refer to the Afghan-and-Iraqi's-being-mercilessly-killed blogs, rather than the Tibetan one. [Edited by moderator] Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. Ah Ipsy, you must be young! The problem is, the Chinese invaded Tibet 49 years ago & since then have tried damnably hard to completely destroy anything that smacks of being Tibetan. The Dalai Lama had to escape in 1959 or else he'd be dead, too. Dead, or tortured like hundreds of ordinary people, monks and nuns who just want to live in Tibet as they have done for centuries. Trouble is they also want to remove their invader. Not a bad idea, really, is it? It just causes so much trouble, though, and if we've ignored it for this long, why not do so for the next 49 years? The Chinese rulers are really just lovely, kind people aren't they? And they love letting people have their human rights. If we all keep very quiet, perhaps it'll all go away and we can watch the Olympics in peace! Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. 'who just want to live in Tibet as they have done for centuries' Damn and there was me thinking they were fighting for democracy, but you say they want to swap an authoritarian regime for an autocratic one. Can't say I'd support the idea of supporting people who would choose to live under the Tibetan equivalent of the Ayatollah. Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. The Olympics were created thousands of years ago to stop the various wars taking place in ancient Europe. I cannot believe that people are being killed and abused in China and we are not cosidering boycotting the Games. I feel nausea and disgust. I remind everyone of the nature of the people being abused, people from Tibet are among the most peaceful people in the world. I would urge our Government together wih all the sports bodies in the UK and in Europe to strongly consider the possibility of a boycott. The Olympics will have no sense if even one person dies. The achievements of the athletes will not take centre stage and will not be remembered down in history. Probably these Olympics will be known by our children as the Olympics of the Chinese genocide. Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. Reply to Ipsy on below quote "Why is Tibetans more important than Iraqis and Afghans who are being mercilessly killed? Only, in that after 5 years the subject is not topical, except in memory!" Tibet is not more important than Iraqis or Afghans, it`s all matter of covering what`s fresh. Didn't Iraq and Afghan get their share of news when it first started and as case of Iraqis..it`s still fresh. And by the way, the struggle of Tibet has been there for the last 58 years, you didn't complain when news didn't cover it? The uprising in Tibet is happening now..thus the report. And Olympics is happening in China, this years.. thus the connection. Understood? Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. We all talk about "How can those "monstrous Tibetan rioter" kill those 2 "Innocent Han Chinese" I wonder when will we come to the point when we say " How can those communist kill those "1.2 Million Tibetans", destroyed 6000 monasteries? Forced monks and nuns to renounce their religion and re-educate them into believing that Mao is their new god? Buddhism doesn't force anyone, if Tibetan feels so bad about theocracy as many in here claims to be, it`s been 58 yrs now.. by now they would have overthrown it if Tibet was free. The so called theocracy might have been treated royally living many poor but they didn't genocide 1.2 million Tibetans with arms, weapons, bombs and prisons. Before 1949, many countries around the world is in Mess, WWII has just finished and many were in debts, but in the last 6 odd decades, everyone has been able to build themselves up...Tibet would too if it was left alone. 1949 is the year when colonizers gave left to their own country and many country regained independence.. the paradox of the time is that IT WAS THE SAME YEAR TIBET BECAME A COLONIZED COUNTRY. free tibet Photos NOT seen anywhere else. (Viewers discretion required.) Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. MASS HYSTERIA OF WESTERN MEDIA?? The Olympic Game and the recent economic uprising of China seems to trigger an mass hysteria in western media worrying about reporting any true and unbiased story of Chinese right-doing. The following Y-tube talks itself:- Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.
>On Mar 22, 6:34 am, s...@tpsur.net (¤j§jªkÁ³) wrote: I looked at a few other YouTube videos and this one by an Austrailian tourist shows only Tibetans rioting, committing arson and likely murder. In the days to come more such videos will be posted. They are too graphic and upset me deeply. It is not a feeling I want to harbor. I can imagine how these videos will inflame mainland Chinese. The Chinese government is RIGHT TO BLOCK ACCESS to YouTube and other online video sites. To allow these videos to be shown in almost real time may well cause hot headed Han Chinese to strike back at any Tibetan community in their neighborhoods all over China. The resulting backlash and mayhem where Tibetans will be injured or killed by Chinese will of course please the Dalai Lama and many foreigners who wish China ill. By blocking access that will give time for passions to cool. In time people will see the videos anyway and come to the right conclusions. But not for now. It is far too dangerous I am sure the Tibetan minorities in Chinese communities all over China are already very fearful for their own safety. The local Chinese authorities will do well to provide a very visible police presence to ensure their safety and keep off troublemakers. Given the inflammatory unthinking enthusiasm of Western media for reporting anything to embarrass China this police protection may well be reported as police oppression should any such writer come across it. Thus the Chinese authorities are again right to block access to Western Journalists rushing in for the hot story regardless of the consequences that their words and pictures will likely fuel the disorder they seek to report. I shall not watch any more of the riot videos as they add nothing to the conclusion that clearly puts all the mayhem as originating from Tibetans. The Chinese authorities have show remarkable restraint in not shooting the rioters. Order was quickly restored and Tibet has already moved off the front pages of the mainstream media. In the coming weeks more objective reports and opinion pieces will appear. That should make foolish of all those people who rashly rushed to defend the Tibetans and to accuse China or genocide or worse. I have no fear that the Chinese Government will have anything to apologise for in its responses to the rioting. In fact this may well be the gold standard for the rest of the world on how to deal with civil unrest. There is certainly nothing the West can boast about on how they deal with racial riots in their own countries. Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. Riot Reports Show Media Bias in West - Chinese netizens, including students studying overseas, have been angered by biased and sometimes dishonest reports about the recent riots in Tibet by some Western media..... Full China coverage - Lhasa Riot http://english.cri.cn/3126/2008/03/20/Zt1321@336118.htm Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment. |
4/09/2008
'Life and death struggle' in Tibet
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