Protests turn violent in Tibet
By EVAN OSNOS AND LAURIE GOERING -- Chicago Tribune

(Updated Saturday, March 15, 2008, 8:00 AM)

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BEIJING The largest protests in Tibet in two decades, which have coursed through Lhasa, the capital, and left vehicles and shops in flames, pose a political dilemma for Beijing as it struggles to bring the unrest under control.

The Chinese government, already facing international pressure to improve its human rights record before the summer Olympics in Beijing, confronts two unappealing options: permit protests to continue and risk broader unrest, or clampdown and face scrutiny and censure from the world.

Varying accounts suggest that Tibet's three main monasteries have been surrounded by police and troop carriers, foreign tourists are confined to hotels, and ethnic Chinese-run businesses have been targeted for damage from angry Tibetans. Some Buddhist monks reportedly are on hunger strike and, in two cases, have attempted suicide to protest police handling of the demonstrations.

The scale and details of the events, however, remain hard to verify. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing "has received first-hand reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other indications of violence," according to an advisory sent Friday. The embassy urged Americans in Tibet and especially in Lhasa to "seek safe havens" and "remain indoors to the extent possible."

As of late Friday, much of Lhasa was under a curfew. With only scattered reports of gunfire, Tibet experts said it appears, for the moment, that public scrutiny may have stalled or prevented a more forceful crackdown, though it's not clear how protesters will be dealt with after the initial violence subsides.

"I think we are seeing (public relations) considerations and I think that's helpful. They haven't used much shooting," said Robbie Barnett, the program coordinator in Modern Tibetan Studies, at Columbia University. "It's progress, but we're not yet seeing signs that it translates into open-mindedness and not notions of punishment and retribution."

China has sent stern warnings that it will not permit unrest to undermine the Olympic games. "Anyone who wants to sabotage the Games will get nowhere," Qiangba Puncog, the top government official in Tibet, was quoted as saying this week in state media.

With nearly five months remaining before the opening ceremony on Aug. 8, the clashes in Tibet deal another blow to Chinese leaders already struggling to defuse foreign criticism that threatens to taint what China hopes will be a showcase of the nation's integration with the world.

Activists have brought pressure on corporate sponsors, foreign heads of state who plan to attend, and celebrities involved in planning. Last month, Britain's Prince Charles said that he would not attend the games in protest of China's treatment of Tibet, and Steven Spielberg withdrew as an artistic advisor, blaming China's continuing support of the government of Sudan, which has failed to quell violence in its Darfur region.

China considers foreign support a critical measure of a successful games, and a crackdown in Tibet could risk the prospect of international condemnation or a boycott.

The tension in Tibet comes just days after the U.S. State Department removed China from a list of the world's worst human rights violators, despite objections from human rights groups. However, China's "overall human rights record remained poor" in 2007, according to the State Department's annual human rights report released Tuesday, which cited stricter controls on the Internet and the press, and limits on the freedom of religion in Tibet and the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

In a statement that also may reflect, unintentionally perhaps, the prospect of a wider uprising, president Hu Jintao told party officials this week: "Stability in Tibet concerns the stability of the country, and safety in Tibet concerns the safety of the country."

The protests have steadily widened since Monday, when police scattered and arrested protesters celebrating the anniversary of the Tibetan rebellion against Chinese rule in 1959. The protests in Lhasa - which began as part of a coordinated day of rallies in Nepal, India and elsewhere - have become the largest political demonstrations there since 1989, when Beijing quelled demonstrations by imposing martial law.

Tibet activists abroad are steeling for a major confrontation. Tsewang Rigzin, president of the Tibetan Youth League based in Dharamsala, northern India, said Tibetan exiles are determined make Tibet a major international focus as the Olympics approach in August.

"We are taking chances. We know how the Chinese have treated Tibetans in the past," he said. "But with the spotlight on them with the Olympics, we want to test them. We want them to show their true colors. That's why we're pushing this."

Speaking by phone from Dharamsala, where Tibet's government-in-exile is based, Rigzin said Tibetan exiles were particularly annoyed at China's plans to take the Olympic torch to the top of Mount Everest prior to the games.

The world's highest mountain "belongs to Tibet, not China," Rigzin said. "They're trying to show the world Tibet is part of China, so we're shining a spotlight on the brutal occupation."

Rigzin suggested that Tibetan protesters had expected a Chinese crackdown in Lhasa. "Freedom comes for a price," said Rigzin, a native of Washington state who moved to Dharamsala in October to take over his organization's presidency. "We realize we can't achieve our goals overnight but we have to start raising the issue."

Rigzin has this week been participating in a protest march from Dharamsala to Lhasa, part of a series of international protests. Indian authorities, fearful the march could upset officials in neighboring China, on Thursday arrested more than 100 of the Tibetan exile marchers after they ignored protests not to leave the district around Dharmsala.

The marchers, charged with disturbing the "peace and tranquility" of the area, face 14 days in detention. Facing similar protests in Nepal, police dispersed demonstrators in Kathmandu, and Human Rights Watch says it is "gravely concerned by reports of beatings" of protesters detained in the event.

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Tibet has been roiled by periodic unrest since 1950, when Chinese troops invaded. The Dalai Lama launched a failed uprising against Chinese rule nine years later, then fled into exile in India. In 1989, protests were brought to a halt by the local Communist Party leader, Hu, now the President.

The unrest in Lhasa began Monday with a march by an estimated 500 monks from the Drepung monastery. They were followed by protests from monks at the Lhasa-area Sera and Ganden monasteries.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to Radio Free Asia, which also cited "authoritative sources in the region" to report that two monks from Drepung monastery "are in critical condition after stabbing their wrists and chests" in a show of protest against police pressure on demonstrators.

Human rights groups condemned China's handling of the protests.

"Instead of arresting peaceful protesters, why don't these governments meet with them and attempt to address their grievances?" Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "Peaceful demonstrations are protected under international and domestic laws and they should be permitted, not violently dispersed."

(Osnos reported from Beijing and Goering from New Delhi.)


Why China claims Tibet is belong to them? Anyone can explain?