The Chinese Saga of Olympic Shame Spreads -- Tibetans Re****t More
Deaths, Spreading Protests As China Clamps Down
Tibetans Re****t More Deaths, Spreading Protests As China Clamps Down
2008.03.15
Numerous sources interviewed by RFA¡¯s Tibetan service have re****ted that
anti-Chinese protests have spread further from the Tibetan capital,
Lhasa, into the Amdo and Kham regions in Qinghai and Sichuan provinces,
respectively. Witnesses notably re****ted a crowd of thousands at the
Labrang monastery in Amdo. In Xiahe, where Labrang is located,
protesters were said to have smashed doors and windows at the county
government offices and police station until they were dispersed by
tear-gas. Following are excerpted interviews from Tibetan sources who
spoke with RFA on Saturday, March 15, 2008:
¡°I am in the Lhasa area. There was shooting today. Many Tibetans who
were dead and barely alive were collected at the TAR [Tibet Autonomous
Region] Security Office area, and I heard from a reliable source that
there were 67 bodies. Some were alive and most were dead when they were
brought in... This included male and female, and I don¡¯t have the
details¡ But it¡¯s confirmed that there were in total about 67 bodies
collected at this place. I cannot tell you the source of my information,
but 67 bodies were seen by my source. It was officially announced by TAR
officials that martial law was imposed. Right now I can hear shootings.
We saw many tanks. Sometimes they fire in the air to threaten the
Tibetans. At some places, like the Karma Kunsel area [near Lhasa], they
are firing right now. Every Tibetan is stopped and their IDs are
checked. Even Tibetan government workers are checked, but the Chinese
are free to move around. Many Tibetans who were arrested were taken
toward the Toelung area and several other jails in different parts of
Lhasa. Even in Penpo, six monks were arrested last night and today there
were demonstrations and Chinese shops were burnt. I think they might
impose these restrictions for at least another seven to eight days. If
they are not allowed to move around, the Tibetans won¡¯t get food
supplies, and the Tibetans are already suffering shortages of food.
Right now the Chinese authorities are cracking down, but there are
indications that this could spread further in rural areas. ¡There is no
indication of any organization planning these demonstrations. It was a
spontaneous response of Tibetans, and they jumped into the rally. They
were shouting ¡®Long live the Dalai Lama¡¯ and ¡®Independence for Tibet,¡¯
and burning Chinese flags. Right now I was told that Tibetan monks in
Samye monastery in Lokha are protesting too.¡±¡ªSource in Lhasa
¡°Today there was a huge demonstration in Labrang. It was started at
11:45 a.m.. Yesterday there were roughly 3,000 to 4,000 but today is
different. There are many thousands shouting 'Long live the Dalai Lama,'
'Tibet is independent,' and so on. They marched towards local government
offices and damaged several windows and a big demonstration is going
on.¡±¡ªSource at Labrang monastery, Amdo
¡°On March 15, there were two demonstrations in the Lithang area. During
the morning, the nomads from Othok Nyakchuka [home of detained lama
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche] rose up and demonstrated for quite awhile. One of
the main leaders in the area was detained. Then on the same day the
nomads from the same area as [jailed nomad] Ronggyal Adrak also
demonstrated and shouted for quite some time and one monk was arrested.
So the atmosphere in Lithang is very tense. The Tibetans were seen
gathering in groups in Lithang town and planning something. At the same
time, government officials are also planning to sabotage Tibetan plans.
It is extremely difficult to get through. About 1,000 Tibetan
independence flyers were distributed in Sershul county of Ganzi
prefecture. Both Lithang and Sershul are in Ganzi prefecture.¡±¡ªSource in
Lithang area, Kham
¡°The Chinese authorities are locking up as many Tibetan protesters as
possible in different jails. Many of them are detained in a jail behind
the Potala Palace and four other prisons in the Lhasa area. The Tibetan
protestors were locked in all these jail like animals. When we contacted
them this morning, no killing was re****ted¡ªthis could be due to
international pressure. It is difficult to give an exact figure for a
death toll, but if we total up the deaths from different information,
more than 100 Tibetans were killed. As of Saturday morning, the Chinese
authorities are imposing martial law and arresting and detaining any
Tibetan who comes out in the street and dumping them in jail. There is
no sign of calm and stability in Lhasa at this point of time.¡±¡ªSource in
Lhasa
¡°When I called my contact this morning, several hundred Tibetan youths
from Bora, Achok, Tsu, Gaja, Sang-kha, and other areas gathered at
Labrang were demonstrating. There were several thousand police and PAP
[People¡¯s Armed Police] deployed in the area but so far there was no
incident of firing at the crowd. However, several tear-gas shells were
fired into the crowd. My contact didn¡¯t see any ransacking in the area
but due to smoke from tear-gas, the whole area is clouded and it¡¯s
difficult to get a full view of the whole area and any incidents. It is
a fact that the number of protesters increased from yesterday. A rough
estimate is over 3,000 [at Labrang monastery]. Tibetans are gathering
from different directions and increasing the strength of the
demonstrations. The demonstrators are shouting, ¡®Long live the Dalai
Lama,¡¯ ¡®Release the Panchen Lama,¡¯ and ¡®Start the Sino-Tibetan peace
dialogue.¡¯ Some were shouting, ¡®Independence for Tibet.' Since there is
no open leader****p, different groups are raising different slogans and
most of them are saying ¡®Long live the Dalai Lama.¡¯¡±¡ªSource in Lhasa
¡°Today there are army [troops] everywhere. There is no way to go and
come. We are confined to our own homes. On Chinese media and TV, they
are talking of only 10 Tibetans killed¡ªand those killed were those who
committed crimes. According to them, all this is the work of 'the Dalai
Lama clique.' Right now, Lhasa city seems to be quiet, without incident,
as no-one is allowed to move about, but there have been some clashes
between Chinese and Tibetans on the outskirts of Lhasa in rural
areas.¡±¡ªSource in Lhasa
Earlier, on Friday, March 14, a Tibetan witness who joined the Lhasa
protests re****ted as follows:
¡°Today when the Tibetans were demonstrating, many Tibetans were killed.
We Tibetans had no weapons to fight back. When the Tibetans were
gathered in front of the Jokhang [temple], the Chinese fired at us. I
have personally seen more 100 Tibetans killed when the Chinese fired at
the Tibetan crowd. It was the Chinese army who fired and that happened
in Lhasa and I personally witnessed the tragedy. Many of those killed
were young Tibetans, both boys and girls. ...It started around 10 a.m.
.... Young kids, youths, male, female, and old, Tibetans of all ages were
taken away to jail. The Tibetans who participated in the protests were
from the whole Lhasa area. When I looked back all the Chinese shops were
destroyed. I think not one Chinese shop is intact in the Barkhor area.
All kinds of things were piled up on the main road and burned. Many
vehicles were burned and destroyed. When I look right now, I can still
see smoke. The Tibetans collected all the dead bodies in front of the
Jokhang [temple] and offered prayers, and scarves. Those family members
whose relatives were among those killed took their bodies away. None of
my family members are among the killed but I was almost killed too, and
many bodies looked familiar. If anybody moves around in town they get
arrested and killed. I think the number of Tibetans killed could not be
less than 100, as I re****ted earlier. Those who are dead sacrificed
their lives for 6 million Tibetans. My disappointment is that we were
not armed and the Chinese fired on unarmed Tibetans. The Chinese threw
some poisonous gas and that gas made the Tibetans dazed and blurred.
Then they were arrested and taken away. I also saw tanks in the area
too, though I did not see many, but they were sent to threaten us. Right
now Lhasa is quiet but I still see black smoke in Lhasa town. It was the
Chinese army who fired on us.¡±
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