The ****trait of a Bloody Faced "Olympic Host" -- Developments Related to
Tibet Crisis/AP
"When you repress the people, they will explode. All people will
explode.''
-- Richard Gere
The New York Times
March 15, 2008
Developments Related to Tibet Crisis
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:18 a.m. ET
Tibet developments at a glance:
TURMOIL IN TIBET -- Protests led by Buddhist monks against Chinese rule
in Tibet turned violent, filling the provincial capital of Lhasa in
smoke from tear gas, bonfires and burned shops. China's official Xinhua
News Agency said 10 people -- including two hotel employees and two shop
owners -- were burned to death, but that no foreigners were hurt.
According to eyewitness accounts and photos posted on the Internet,
crowds hurled rocks at riot police, hotels and restaurants.
DALAI LAMA COMMENT -- Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, called
the protests a ''manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment of the
Tibetan people,'' and urged both sides to avoid violence. In Dharmsala,
India, the site of Tibet's government-in-exile, he urged China's
leader****p to ''stop using force and address the long-simmering
resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan
people.''
U.S. COMMENT -- White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Beijing needs
to respect Tibetan culture and multi-ethnicity in its society. ''We
regret the tensions between the ethnic groups and Beijing,'' he said,
adding that President Bush has said consistently that Beijing needs to
have a dialogue with the Dalai Lama. The U.S. ambassador to China has
urged the government to ''act with restraint'' in dealing with the
protesters, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
OLYMPIC OUTLOOK -- The violence poses difficulties for a Communist
leader****p that has looked to the Aug. 8-24 Olympics as a way to recast
China as a friendly, modern power. Too rough a crackdown could put that
at risk, while balking could embolden protesters, costing Beijing
authority in often-restive Tibet.
RICHARD GERE COMMENT -- Buddhist actor who has advocated Tibetan
independence for 30 years said no one should be surprised by the
uprising. ''They've been brutally repressed for 50 years, 55 years,
close to six decades. When you repress the people, they will explode.
All people will explode.''
EU APPEAL -- European Union leaders appealed to China to show restraint
in Tibet, but the criticism of Beijing's response to the demonstrations
did not go so far as to threaten a boycott of the Beijing Olympics. EU
foreign policy chief Javier Solana said: ''As far as the Olympic Games
are concerned I intend to be there.''
INDIA PROTEST -- Police have clashed with scores of pro-Tibet protesters
near the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, arresting dozens of them. The
chanting protesters were trying to reach the embassy, in a wealthy New
Delhi neighborhood, when they were stopped by police. Police could be
seen arresting at least two dozen people.
NEPAL PROTEST -- Police scuffled with about 1,000 protesters, including
dozens of Buddhist monks, during a rally in Nepal's capital of Katmandu
in sup****t of demonstrators in Tibet. About 12 monks were injured.
U.N. PROTEST -- Dozens of Tibetans held a noisy protest against Chinese
rule outside the United Nations, and six were arrested. Psurbu Tsering
of the Tibetan Association of New York and New Jersey said its members
received phone calls from Tibet claiming 70 people had been killed and
1,000 arrested in the Chinese province. The re****ts could not be verified.
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