"THOUSANDS KILLED?"
Some media are re****ting, somehow, from behind Tibet's now closed
borders, perhaps thousands of suspected Tibetan dissidents have been
summarily shot by Communist soldiers.
Party "officials" have confirmed, through special public affairs
representatives, that people suspected of stirring up trouble
regarding Tibetan independence issues are subject to "punishment
without prejudice."
Chinese Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu is said to have told
visiting dignitaries from Zimbabwe that his government has everything
under control.
"Yes, we have taken some strong measures against those who would sully
the good name of our most precious nation," Meng said. "But re****ts
that we are indiscriminately shooting our own citizens is patently
false, no doubt a rumor spread by U.S. media. We are simply
tem****arily closing Tibet's doors while we calm down and pacify the
factions who are up to no good. Once this has been accomplished, the
doors will swing open for the world to see there is no evidence of
mass killing, or even graves."
-----------------------------
"Tibetan Officials Issue Stern Warning in Advance of Olympic Relay"
By Jill Drew
Wa****ngton Post Foreign Service
Friday, April 25, 2008; A15
BEIJING, April 24 -- Tibetan government authorities warned Thursday of
severe consequences for anyone who spreads rumors that "excite popular
feelings," as the region braces for the arrival of the Olympic torch
sometime in the next couple of weeks.
"We will severely root out and give no indulgence to people with
ulterior motives who spread rumors or excite popular feelings," the
Tibetan government said in a notice posted on its Web site.
Chinese officials are sticking to a controversial plan for
torchbearers to bring the Olympic flame over the top of Mount Everest
and into downtown Lhasa, the Tibetan capital and the scene last month
of deadly rioting against Chinese rule. Re****ts of scattered protests
continue to seep out of Tibet, even though armed police have flooded
the area, searching monasteries and houses and sometimes confiscating
cellphones and computers, exile groups say. The region is off-limits
to foreigners.
Local government officials are under pressure to ensure a smooth
running of the torch relay and are tightening already strict security
in the area. Selected foreign journalists will be allowed to accompany
the torch onto Mount Everest and into Lhasa, though officials have
been trying this week to reduce the time re****ters will be permitted
in the region. The last time foreign journalists were allowed in
Lhasa, a group of monks disrupted a government-planned visit to a
shrine and told the re****ters that Tibetans were being repressed.
The Chinese government rejects criticism that its policies on religion
and freedom of expression are to blame for the turmoil in Tibet. It
says a small group of separatists, led by associates of the Dalai
Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, are attempting to sabotage the
Olympic Games to pressure China into talks on Tibetan independence.
The Dalai Lama, who denies promoting violence and says he sup****ts
China's hosting of the Games, was on a speaking tour in the United
States this week and drew protests from overseas Chinese students and
others.
Tibetan advocacy groups say China's efforts to block news from Tibetan
areas have been effective, with several sources of information drying
up. "But the crackdown cannot obliterate the courage of Tibetans
across the plateau in recent weeks in challenging China's hard-line
policies and in telling the world that the Dalai Lama represents their
interests, not Beijing," said Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the
Wa****ngton-based International Campaign for Tibet.
Tibet's official newspaper, the Tibet Daily, re****ted on Monday that
Communist Party members have launched a two-month political education
drive for government officials and party members in Lhasa. The
campaign is to focus on "unifying the thinking and cohesive strength
of officials and the m*****, deepening the struggle against separatism
and counter-attacking the separatists plots of the Dalai clique,"
according to an English-language translation provided by the Reuters
news agency.
http://www.wa****ngtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/24/AR2008042401485.html
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