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03/30/2008

Chinese Regime Implicated in Staging Violence in Lhasa—UPDATED

Epoch Times[Saturday, March 29, 2008 17:29]
Witness identifies policeman who played part of 'rioter'

By Qin Yue and Qi Yue

Updated March 28

This is the uncropped photo with a Chinese policeman in disguise holding a knife, distributed to news media by the Chinese Embassy.
This is the uncropped photo with a Chinese policeman in disguise holding a knife, distributed to news media by the Chinese Embassy.
Evidence is accumulating that the Chinese regime orchestrated violence in Lhasa in order to discredit the peaceful protests of Buddhist monks.

According to the Dalai Lama's Chinese translator, Ngawang Nyendra, a witness reported that a Chinese policeman in Lhasa disguised himself as a Tibetan and joined the protesters holding a knife in his hand. This witness also recognized the man from BBC news footage and news photos provided by China.

A Chinese woman from Thailand (who prefers that her name not be used) was studying in Lhasa when the protests broke out in March. As one of her friends is a policeman, she visited him at the local police station quite often and got to know other policemen there.

After the protests on March 14, she and other foreigners were sent to the police station where she saw a man with a knife in his hand walking in with some arrested Tibetans. The man later took off the Tibetan-style clothes and put on a police uniform.

This woman was sent out of Lhasa with other foreigners the next day. When she arrived in India via Nepal, she recognized the policeman she had seen in Tibetan garb from BBC TV news and photos that the Chinese embassy had provided to the media.

Ngawang Nyendra said the witness was shocked when she saw the policeman in the BBC broadcast. She realized then that the man had disguised himself as a Tibetan in order to incite people to riot.

The witness contacted a Tibetan organization in India and told them what she had seen. At a rally on March 17, the organization publicized a news photo originally provided by the Chinese Embassy in India in which the policeman appeared as a Tibetan rioter.

This is a cropped copy of the photo released by the Chinese Embassy purporting to show a Tibetan with a knife taking part in a riot.
This is a cropped copy of the photo released by the Chinese Embassy purporting to show a Tibetan with a knife taking part in a riot.
On Xinhua and other Chinese-language Web sites friendly to the regime, after the rally at which the witness spoke, the policeman in disguise had disappeared from photos taken at the same scene in which he had previously been visible. Recently, the original man-with-the-knife photo has returned to these Web sites.

Ngawang Nyendra said, "This photo with this man in it was sent by the Chinese embassy to BBC and Radio Free Asia. The other photo was sent out later. They are exactly the same except the man has disappeared from the second photo.

"From the TV news footage, you can see this man attempting to stab other people with a knife. But in later shots you can't find this person any more. They were acting. After people raised questions about these shots, this footage never appeared on TV again."

Other Evidence

The main claim of the dramatic story told last week by the Dalai Lama's translator—that the Chinese regime incited the riots in Lhasa—has lately found corroboration from other sources.

There is first of all the Chinese regime's track record of staging this kind of deception.

This is not the first time that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sent policemen to act as rioters in civilian protests in Tibet to stir up violence and frame the protesters.

This is a copy of the picture of the same scene in Lhasa but with the man with the knife now missing, which was distributed after the man's identity was revealed at a rally in Darmasala.
This is a copy of the picture of the same scene in Lhasa but with the man with the knife now missing, which was distributed after the man's identity was revealed at a rally in Darmasala.
In his "Events in Lhasa March 2-10, 1989", the Chinese journalist Tang Daxian revealed how the CCP orchestrated violence as part of a plan to suppress the 1989 protests in Tibet.

According to the article, "On the dawn of March 5, the Armed Police in Tibet received the action order from the Chief Commander of Armed Police headquarter, Mr. Li Lianxiu.…The Special Squad should immediately assign 300 members to be disguised as ordinary citizens and Tibetan monks, entering the Eight-Corner Street and other riot spots in Lhasa, to support plain-clothes police to complete the task.

"Burn the Scripture Pagoda at the northeast of Dazhao Temple. Smash the rice store in the business district, incite citizens to rob rice and food, attack the Tibet-Gansu Trading Company. Encourage people to rob store products, but, only at the permitted locations."

According to the commentator Mr. Chen Pokong, "In this year's protest, the riot scene was quite similar to that of 1989. A group of young men in their twenties acted in a well organized way. They first shouted slogans, then burnt some vehicles near the Ramoche Monastery, and then broke into nearby stores and robbed them, and finally burnt scores of the stores.

"The actions seemed well planned and coordinated, and were conducted with skill. At the crossroads near the Ramoche Monastery, someone prepared in advance many stones of a similar size, each weighing a couple of kilograms. These stones magically escaped the attention of numerous policemen and plainclothes agents who flooded the city."

Mr. Chen's account of what happened this year is corroborated by the British high-tech spy agency GCHQ, whose satellites observed Chinese police incite the riots in Lhasa, according to a report in the G2 Bulletin.

These accounts also help make sense of puzzling aspects of a report in the New York Times on the scene on the streets of Lhasa on March 14.

According to the NY Times, "Foreigners and Lhasa residents who witnessed the violence were stunned by what they saw, and by what they did not see: the police. Riot police officers fled after an initial skirmish and then were often nowhere to be found."

"One monk reached by telephone said other monks noticed that several officers were more interested in shooting video of the violence than stopping it. 'They were just watching,' the monk said. 'They tried to make some videos and use their cameras to take some photos,'" according to the NY Times.

The publication of the photo of the man with the knife by Xinhua and its distribution by the Chinese Embassy, as reported by the Dalai Lama's translator, would be consistent with this monk's observation.

Meanwhile, the Tibetans continue to assert that the Chinese regime has been hoodwinking the world about what happened during the protests in Lhasa.

30 young monks broke into a press briefing behind held on Thursday by the Chinese regime in Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. According to USA Today reporter Callum MacLeod (as reported by Reuters), the young monks shouted, "Don't believe them. They are tricking you. They are telling lies."

With reporting by Stephen Gregory and Hao Feng

00:04 Posted in Freedom of expression | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Tibet

03/25/2008

Pro-Tibet protesters disrupt Olympic flame ceremony

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{www.thetibetpost.com

AP[Monday, March 24, 2008 17:05] ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece March 24 — Two men carrying black flags ran onto the field of the stadium in Ancient Olympia during Monday's flame-lighting ceremony for the Beijing Olympics, evading massive security aimed at preventing such disruptions amid China's crackdown in Tibet.

 

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A RSF demonstrator carrying a black flag with handcuffs used to symbolize the five Olympics rings, runs behind Liu Qi, the president of Beijing's Olympics Organizing Committee who speaks in Ancient Olympia, Greece, during the Olympic flame lighting ceremony, in this television frame grab, Monday, March 24, 2008.

The incident occurred Monday while Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Olympics organizing committee and Beijing Communist Party Secretary, was giving a speech. The men, apparently free press advocates, were detained by police, more than 1,000 of which were deployed around the site.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge attended the ceremony at the 2,800-year-old birthplace of the ancient games in southern Greece. The flame for the Aug. 8-24 games was lit using the sun's rays.
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A RSF demonstrator carrying a black flag with handcuffs used to symbolize the five Olympics rings, runs behind Liu Qi, the president of Beijing's Olympics Organizing Committee who speaks in Ancient Olympia, Greece, during the Olympic flame lighting ceremony, in this television frame grab, Monday, March 24, 2008.
Greek officials said politics have no place at the event ahead of expected protests by pro-Tibetan groups. Meanwhile, China pledged strict security measures to ensure that the torch relay, which begins with the lighting ceremony, is not marred by protests.

The banner belongs to the Paris-based journalism advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, which confirmed it was their flag. The group said three members, including the group's secretary general Robert Menard, managed to get into the ceremony without being stopped.
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A RSF demonstrator carrying a black flag with handcuffs used to symbolize the five Olympics rings, runs behind Liu Qi, the president of Beijing's Olympics Organizing Committee who speaks in Ancient Olympia, Greece, during the Olympic flame lighting ceremony, in this television frame grab, Monday, March 24, 2008.
China's Communist leadership has faced a public relations disaster since demonstrations against Chinese rule turned violent March 14 in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, sparking waves of unrest in surrounding provinces. People who sympathize with the Tibetan cause have also staged rallies in other countries.

The death toll from the violence has varied and been impossible to confirm independently. China's reported death toll is 22 but Tibet's exiled government says 130 Tibetans were killed. Another 19 died in subsequent violence in Gansu province, it said.
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A RSF demonstrator carrying a black flag with handcuffs used to symbolize the five Olympics rings, runs behind Liu Qi, the president of Beijing's Olympics Organizing Committee who speaks in Ancient Olympia, Greece, during the Olympic flame lighting ceremony, in this television frame grab, Monday, March 24, 2008.
Rogge told The Associated Press on Monday that he was engaged in "silent diplomacy" with China on Tibet and other human rights issues. But he also said there was no credible momentum for a boycott and that while he was concerned by the violence in Tibet, the IOC could do no more than call for a peaceful resolution because it is a sports organization.

Among the groups planning to protest was Students for a Free Tibet. The group's director Lhadon Tethong said officers also detained one Tibetan campaigner and a Greek photographer with him in the village of Ancient Olympia, just outside the site. "One of our colleagues saw them being dragged by about 20 police through town," Tethong said.
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A RSF demonstrator carrying a black flag with handcuffs used to symbolize the five Olympics rings, runs behind Liu Qi, the president of Beijing's Olympics Organizing Committee who speaks in Ancient Olympia, Greece, during the Olympic flame lighting ceremony, in this television frame grab, Monday, March 24, 2008.
The ceremony was held an hour early -- starting at 5 a.m. EDT -- to avoid rain forecast for later Monday. An actress dressed as a high priestess lit the flame using a convex mirror to focus the sun's rays on the Olympic torch.

From Olympia, the flame will start on a 85,000-mile journey to Beijing, going through 20 countries before the Olympics open on Aug. 8. Chinese media reported that officials -- who have blamed the unrest on the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama -- were prepared to prevent a disruption of the torch relay.

China's plans to take the torch through Tibet and to the top of Mount Everest have upset Tibetan activist groups, which accuse Beijing of using the event to convey a false message of harmony in the troubled Himalayan region. Chinese Communist troops occupied Tibet in 1951 and Beijing continues to rule the region with a heavy hand.
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Greek police drags away a Tibetan activist during a street protest in ancient Olympia against China's rule in Tibet after the ceremony to light the flame for the Beijing Games on March 24, 2008. The ritual had already been disrupted by members of the Reporters Without Borders organisation earlier.
"The more determined the Dalai clique is to ruin the torch relay and the Olympic Games, the more hard and good work we need to do on the preparation and the implementation of all aspects," Yin Xunping, a Communist Party official, was quoted as saying by the Tibet Daily newspaper.

Yin is party secretary of the Tibet Mountain Climbing Team, which is participating in the Mount Everest segment of the torch relay. He spoke at a meeting organized last week by Tibet's sports bureau, whose head, Dejizhuoga, urged "intense precautions and heightened security."
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Tibetan activists unfurl a banner to a hotel balcony during a street protest in ancient Olympia against China's rule in Tibet after the ceremony to light the flame for the Beijing Games on March 24, 2008. The ritual had already been disrupted by members of the Reporters Without Borders organisation earlier. Greek and Chinese state television quickly cut their live broadcasts to an image away from the protesters when the incident started. Photo: AFP
The report, cited Monday by the official Xinhua News Agency, did not give any details of what measures would be taken. A receptionist at the Tibet sports bureau said no officials were available for comment Monday.

Mount Everest straddles the border between Nepal and Tibet. China has already begun denying mountaineers permission to climb the Tibetan side of the mountain -- a move that reflects government concerns that activists may try to disrupt its torch plans.

The first torchbearer in the relay will be Greece's Alexandros Nikolaidis, who won a silver medal in taekwondo at the 2004 Athens Games. He will hand the flame to Luo Xuejuan, who won China's only swimming gold medal in Athens.

11:27 Posted in Freedom of expression | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this | Tags: Tibet

03/24/2008

Latest Updates on Tibet Demonstrations

Sunday, 23 March 2008, 8:25 p.m.

2nd March, 2008

Chentsa County (Ch: Jianza) Malho "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture," Qinghai province- Three arrested during peaceful demonstration by 800 people, 50 military trucks brought in to suppress protestors.

Around 10AM this morning, Tibetans from four villages (Drulche, Kholtsa-thang, Lugyal, and Nyamo) from Nangra Township initiated a protest that was also joined by the people of Kyareng Township (including villages Kyareng, Yulwo-che, and Lokhok).

While protesting, the Tibetan flag was swayed and the portrait of H.H. the Dalai Lama and His Serenity Panchen Rinpoche was carried along.

When the protestors reached the Chentsa County headquarters, they were joined by more protestors from the villages: Lechen, Markhu-thang, and Bartsa. Trulkus (reincarnated lamas) and respected lamas were pressured by County authorities to get the protest to end. The protest lasted till around 3pm this afternoon.

50 military trucks from Hunan Province (China) arrived today on March 22nd in the Chentsa County area. Even with the widespread and intimidating military presence, Tibetans from villages including Miri-Gongma, Miri-Sholma, Lowa, and Tsulshing held a demonstration today. During this demonstration, four people were arrested in Lokhog village by armed forces and the demonstration was stopped there. The names of the three arrestees can be confirmed. They are:


1) Sherab
2) Tabho
3) Gonpa

Chigdril (Ch: Jiuzhi) County, Golog, "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture," Qinghai province - Over 500 monks and laypeople hold sit-down

Around 500 monks and lay people from Palyul village are holding a sit-down on a hill-top to demand that Karwang Nyima Rinpoche (Dharthang Monastery head) not be harassed by the Chinese military. The people have also demanded the United Nations, U.S. and other countries intervene to resolve the issue.

21st March, 2008

Derge (Ch: Dege) County, Karze "Tibet Autonomous Prefecture," Sichuan province - Student dress up as monks

Few senior monks of Kakhong Trotso monastery gathered 50 students from Derge County. These students were dressed in monk-robes and asked to stay in the monastery for the time being.

19th March, 2008 Machu County (Ch: Maqu), Kanlho "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture," Gansu Province- Huge number of arrests made

During numerous protests held by monks and laypeople, many arrests were made by Chinese authorities. Arrests continue to be made and few of names of the arrestees can be confirmed. There are:


1. Lobsang Rinchen (currently a worker and a performer of Machu County's Performing Arts group, originally from Ngulra-Kulkhor Village, Machu County)
2. Sungrab (monk from Mura Monastery, Machu County)
3. Dolma (a singer from a karaoke bar, Machu County)
4. Lobsang Namgyal (monk)

The above 4 arrestees were arrested in Machu County. Names of 6 more arrestees can not be confirmed for the time being

5. Rintang (Originally from Chu Ka Ma Village, Machu County. He was arrested during a protest in Labrang).

The people below were arrested on March 20 and 21st in Machu County.


6. Thukho (Thupten Tsering) From Ngulra Rusar village, Macchu County
7. Sangay Dolma (from Ngaba County)
8. Kunchok (from Rathor Ghoe village, Machu County)
9. Thinlay (from Nyima Village, Machu County)
10. Namlho (from Nyima Village, Machu County)
11. Thinlay (Postal department staff, from Nyima Village, Machu County)
12. Dolkar Kyab (age 24 years, currently performing for Machu County's Performing Arts group)
13. Namtse (Namgyal Tsetan) From Gyulag Village, Chu Ka Ma township, Machu County
14. Dorje (from Chu Ka Sha War Shi village, Machu County)
15. Sangzin Kyi (performer of Machu County's Performing Arts group)

On March 22, 2008, around 1PM local time, military dressed in monk robes severely beat 8 laypersons and arrested them too.

From March 19th until March 22nd, around 48 arrests have been made.

18th March, 2008 Yulshul (Ch: Yushu/Jiegu)/ Kyegudo County (Yulshul "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture," Qinghai province - Military warn students and staff

Around 400 students from Yulshul Middle School stripped the Chinese flag down and held a protest. The Chinese military surrendered the school premises. The school staff and students were strictly warned that today's incident could not be told to anyone outside of the school. Furthermore, the movement of both the school staff and students has been restricted until the summer Olympics is over.

Sakya (Ch: Sajai) County, Shigatse Prefecture.

Military and work teams were sent to Sakya Monastery to advice them not to take part in future protests. There was a brief tension between the authorities and the monks. On the 19th, while protesting, the monks forced the Chinese authorities to leave the monastic premises.

Dzoege County (Ch: Ruo'ergai) Ngaba "Tibetan Autonomous Region" Sichuan Province -Huge number arrested


The following names of arrestees from March 18, 2008 can be confirmed:
1. Damdul (42 years)
2. Nyima Dorji (23 years)
3. Chobhe (39 years)
4. Thubten
5. Dargye (27 years)
6. Khando (15 years, arrested on March 20)
7. Choeyang Tashi (33 years)
8. Tenpa (17 years)
9. Asang (22 years)
10. Dolkar Kyab (32 years)
11. Choezin
12. Drokhoma
13. Kyab Ko
14. Tsultrim Dolma (36 years, arrested on March 21st
15. Yonten Gyatso (monk from Thangkor Soktsang Monastery, Zoegay County)
16. Yarphel
17. Sonam
18. Tenzin
19. Yonten Shituk
20. Yonten
21. Jigme Gyatso
22. Lobsang Choephel
23. Tashi Gyatso
24. Lobsang Woeser
25. Lobsang Jinpa
26. Lobsang Soepa
27. Sherap Gyatso
28. Jamyang Soepa
29. Lobsang Gyatso
30. Tenzin Gyatso
31. Tsultrim Jungney

Gongo County (Ch: Gongjue) in Chamdo Prefecture, "Tibet Autonomous Region"

In Gongo County, a group of Tibetans from Sa-Ngen village took part in several different protests. Specific dates can not be confirmed. No further details available.

Suppression continues all over Tibet as all public spaces and monasteries are being tightly guarded by the Chinese military.
(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.)

19:18 Posted in Freedom of expression | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Tibet

Tibet govt-in-exile says about 130 confirmed dead in unrest

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{The Tibet Post International - Monday, 24 March 2008}
DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — Around 130 people have been confirmed killed in a Chinese crackdown on protests and unrest in Tibet, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile told AFP on Monday.

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Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche, chairman of the Kashag of the Central Tibetan Administration in exile and other Kalons are mourning for those who killed by Chinese in Tibet on 22 March 2008 at Tibetan main Temple in Dharamsala. Photo: Choenyi Woeser, The Tibet Express.
"This figure is from our sources in Tibet. The verifiable number is about 130 in entire Tibet," Samdhong Rinpoche said in Dharamshala in northern India, the base of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

The new toll is a jump from the figure of 99 confirmed deaths provided by the government-in-exile last week.

"These are not necessarily new casualties. This could be information that we could not get before," Rinpoche said, adding that the numbers also included fatalities from Tibetan areas in provinces such as Gansu and Sichuan.

"We are afraid the number could go up when we get more information from remote areas," he said.

China has released different figures on the number of dead.

On Saturday, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua said Tibetan rioters killed 18 "innocent" civilians and one police officer during protests against Chinese rule in the Himalayan region's capital of Lhasa.

Protests, which began two weeks ago on the anniversary of a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, erupted into deadly violence in Lhasa on March 14.

Riots then spread into other parts of China with significant ethnic Tibetan populations, marking the biggest challenge to Chinese control of the Himalayan region in two decades.

Independent verification of the varying casualty figures has not been possible, with Chinese authorities keeping a tight lid across a huge swathe of riot-hit areas and denying foreign reporters access.

China has accused the "Dalai Lama clique" of orchestrating the violence ahead of the Olympic Games in August. But the Dalai Lama has called Beijing's charges against him "baseless".

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Sunday, where he is holding Buddhist workshops, the Dalai Lama said: "I have always supported that the Olympic Games should take place in China."

The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said he opposes violence and that he is not promoting independence but wants greater autonomy for the region. He has also called for an international probe into the unrest.

19:12 Posted in Freedom of expression | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this | Tags: Tibet

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