http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20080412TDY05312.htm
China strengthens clampdown on Tibet
Takanori Kato and Toru Makinoda/Yomiuri ****mbun Correspondents
Nearly one month has passed since major riots broke out in Lhasa in
the Tibet Autonomous Region on March 14, spilling over into Sichuan
and two other provinces.
In the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province
and Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province, the local
governments have declared that public order has been restored, but
behind the scenes there has been an intensifying clampdown on ethnic
Tibetans through a show of force and spread of ideology.
The Chinese government is expected to continue such moves in the
buildup to the Beijing Olympic Games in a bid to prevent the Games
from becoming politicized.
Military troops and police officers dispatched to crack down on
demonstrators in Sangchu County in Gansu Province are still deployed
there, with major hotels in the area fully booked to provide
accommodation for the deployed security forces.
At Labrang Monastery in the county, special lectures on patriotism
stressing the need for the "unification of the home country" began for
all monks at the monastery.
A 36-year-old monk of Gansu Province said he was forced to sign a
do***ent stating that the 14th Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader,
was an evildoer conspiring to attain independence for Tibetans.
"But this kind of do***ent has no meaning," he said angrily. "He [the
Dalai Lama] is in our hearts."
As he ushered me [Kato] into a Buddhist hall that had been locked, I
saw a photograph of the 14th Dalai Lama, the possession of which is
banned.
Another monk, in his 20s, said he could not contain his anger over the
Chinese Communist Party's insistence on linking the Dalai Lama to the
rioting in its "propaganda."
"In Sichuan Province, a monk committed suicide by slitting his throat
after saying, 'Whether one participates in a demonstration should be
decided based on one's own beliefs,'" he said.
A similar sentiment seems to be spreading throughout the whole Tibetan
community of Dalai Lama followers.
In Mao County, Sichuan Province, close to Aba County, the scene of
fierce clashes between security forces and demonstrators, a man
explained the current situation.
"Since the rioting in Lhasa, policemen have begun calling at houses
out of the blue and searching for photographs of the Dalai Lama," he
said. "Police are now also checking people's belongings in the street.
Many people used to discretely hang photos [of the Dalai Lama] on
their walls, or carry them in pendants, but we can't do that any
more."
More than 60 military vehicles, including fuel supply cars and large
trucks, were seen on Thursday evening passing through Tianquan County,
which is located on the way to Garze and Luhuo counties in the Garze
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, where fatalities
were re****ted in clashes between demonstrators and police forces. The
long convoy of military vehicles heading toward the Garze Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture can be taken as a sign that the deployment of
military troops will be prolonged.
According to observers, China's hard-line stance over Tibet with which
it is rejecting dialogue with the Dalai Lama, whom it labels a
"plotter," is sowing widespread anti-Beijing sentiment among local
residents, creating a vicious circle.
===
Re****ters also detained
On my way [Makinoda] from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, to Aba
County in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture on
Wednesday, I was stopped by a police car in Mao County and taken to a
police facility.
Although Aba County has declared the restoration of public order, a
police officer said I could not to visit the county. "You can't go
beyond this point," the police officer said. "It's for your own
safety. If something happened, it would become a diplomatic issue."
I was detained for more than two hours before being told to leave.
On the same day my colleague Kato was heading for Aba County from
Sangchu County in Gansu Province. I was stopped at Luchu County in
Gansu Province by five men who called themselves officials from the
"Travel Bureau."
The five men told me that the road ahead was blocked because of an
emergency. They took my pass****t and sent me in a van to the Linxia
Hui Autonomous Prefecture. During the journey, I was neither informed
of our destination nor allowed to touch my belongings. The men clearly
looked like public securities officials and the only comment they
would make was that their actions were being taken to ensure my
safety.
(Takanori Kato re****ted from Sangchu County in Gansu Province and Toru
Makinoda re****ted from Mao County, Sichuan Province.)
(Apr. 12, 2008)
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