Thousands Of Tibetans Protest In Western China

Tibetan Protests Erupt in Western China -- Voice of America

Reports from China's western Qinghai Province say hundreds or even thousands of Tibetans marched on government offices Friday. The protests come amid attempts by China's government to maintain social stability during a political transition.

Tibetans marched on government offices in Rebkong, a region of eastern Tibet, after a series of self-immolations that drew international attention. Estimates ranged from hundreds to thousands of protesters who began gathering on the streets at 5:00 a.m. Many said they were speaking out against China's education system.

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More News On Massive Protests In Tibet

Thousands of Tibetans protest in China, activists say -- BBC
Tibetans rally in central China -- UPI
Tibetans stage protest and immolations in a message to China’s communist elite -- Washington Post/AP
Tibetans greet China's Communist Party Congress with fiery protests -- L.A. Times
China reveals massive security operation to stop Tibetans setting fire to themselves -- The Telegraph
Six Tibetans set themselves on fire in two days - activists -- BBC
China says no to foreign rights monitors for Tibet -- Reuters
Tibetans are content, China's Communist Party congress is told -- L.A. Times

Unrest In Tibet As Tibetan Students 'Take To Streets Over Reforms'

Photo: The Tibetan students are said to be angered by changes to education policy

More Tibetan Students 'Take To Streets Over Reforms' -- BBC

Protests by Tibetan students in China over the right to study in their language have spread, according to a rights group and state media.

Thousands marched in Qinghai province on Wednesday, following a peaceful demonstration in Tongren a day earlier.

It follows unconfirmed reports of plans to curb the use of the Tibetan language in classrooms in favour of Chinese.

Qinghai province is home to many ethnic Tibetans and was the scene of anti-Chinese riots in 2008.

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More News On The Unrest In Tibet

Language protests spread among Tibetan students -- AP
Tibet language protests spread in China: rights group -- AFP
Tibetan student protests spread: overseas group -- Reuters
Tibetan student protests spread -- The Guardian
Tibetan students protest, say China is wiping out their culture -- CNN
Tibetan schools stage protest -- The Telegraph
Tibetans protest against language curbs in Chinese schools -- The Guardian
Tibetan students' protests reach Beijing -- L.A. Times

China Crackdown In Tibet

Troops march through Lhasa today in a show of strength by the Chinese authorities
Photo from Times Online

China Increases Security In Tibet To Prevent Protests -- New York Times

BEIJING — For a second straight year, the Chinese government has increased security across parts of the vast Tibetan plateau to dissuade any Tibetans from holding protests this week to mark the anniversaries of ethnic uprisings. Witnesses who have spent time recently in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and other Tibetan areas of western China say there are more police and paramilitary forces on the streets, some of them bearing automatic weapons.

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More News On Tibet

Hundreds rounded up in Tibet crackdown -- Times Online
Police, military crackdown in Tibet on anniversary -- AFP
Nepal: Tibet Uprising Anniversary Exposes Growing Rift -- Global Voices
Tibetan Activists Mark Anniversary of 1959 Uprising -- Voice of America
China indicates hard line on Dalai Lama succession -- AFP
Dalai Lama Expresses 'Little Hope' for Progress With China on Tibetan Issue -- Voice of America
'Little hope' of resolving Tibet issue: Dalai Lama -- AFP
China accuses Dalai Lama as Tibet anniversary looms -- AFP

Tensions In Tibet On The Eve Of The 50th Anniversary Of The Uprising

Chinese riot police in Xiahe, where hundreds of Tibetans
demonstrated on Friday. Photo: Andy Wong/AP

One Year After Protests, An Enforced Silence on Tibet -- Time Magazine

A year ago the Chinese government was caught off-guard by an uprising by Tibetan activists. Text messages and blogs among Tibetans in exile and compatriots in their Himalayan homeland helped coordinate and cheer on an uprising that embarrassed the rulers of the People's Republic as China just as the country was preparing for its Olympics. A year later, however, the Chinese authorities have moved with dispatch to prevent any recurrence. In the run-up to Mar. 10, the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet after a failed uprising, Beijing has cut off communication between Tibet—as well as areas with large ethnic Tibetan communities—and the rest of the world.

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More News On Tibet

Dalai Lama to demand Tibet autonomy, mourn past -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Tibetans rally 50 years after uprising -- Yahoo News/AFP
Tibetans Rally 50 Years After Uprising -- Washington Post
Home-made bombs thrown at police amid Tibetan crackdown -- The Guardian
Crackdown marks Tibet anniversary -- The Australian
Blasts rock Tibetan area as China ups security -- AP
China's Hu urges Tibet stability -- BBC
Deep divisions over Tibet anniversary -- BBC
Monks taken for 're-education' before Tibet uprising anniversary -- Times Online

Tensions High As China Braces For Tibet Protests

From The AFP:

BEIJING (AFP) — Chinese authorities have imposed a security lockdown in Tibet as the Himalayan region this week marks the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile.

Beijing is desperate to prevent protests by monks and nomads after violent unrest last year embarrassed the leadership just ahead of the Olympics in the Chinese capital.

The Dalai Lama has called on his Buddhist followers to remain true to his non-violent cause, while also warning that worsening Chinese repression could provoke further confrontations.

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More News On Tibet

China clamps down ahead of Tibetan anniversary -- USA Today
UK protesters mark anniversary of Tibetan uprising -- CNN
Global acclaim can't hide Dalai Lama's troubles -- AFP
Tibet remains stable despite repeated secessionist attempts -- China View
Chinese FM: China's unity at heart of differences with Dalai Lama -- China View
Martial law grips a Tibet in mourning -- Scotsman
China's grip on Tibet tight, but options limited -- Reuters
Dalai Lama 'too soft' on China, say Tibetan exiles -- The Telegraph
50 years in exile -- Sify News

Dalai Lama Fears "Explosion Of Violence" In Tibet

Workers clear a street in the regional capital of Lhasa after riots. March, 2008.
Photo: AP/Sydney Morning Herald

From Yahoo News/Reuters:

BERLIN (Reuters) – Tibet's exiled spiritual leader has said he fears violence could break out at any moment in the region, a year after protests against Chinese rule erupted into riots.

The Dalai Lama's comments, published on a German newspaper's website Friday, come days before the 50th anniversary of his flight into exile and a year since a Tibetan crowd burned shops belonging to Han Chinese and Hui Muslims in Lhasa.

Chinese authorities said 19 people were killed in the initial riots. Tibetan exile groups said scores more were killed and hundreds arrested across the region in a subsequent crackdown by the authorities.

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More News On Tibet

Protests to mark 50 years since Tibet revolt -- New Zealand Herald
Tensions high in Tibetan community -- Euronews
De facto martial law in force in Tibet, army ready for violent crackdown -- Asia News
Tibet under siege ahead of anniversary, say activists -- Sify News
Tibet official: March Lhasa riots won't repeat -- China View
No martial law in Lhasa on "special" days -- China View

A Year After China Quashed Revolt, Tibetans Simmer With Resentment

From McClatchy Newspapers:

TONGREN, China — Scratch only a little bit, and Dorje, a Tibetan nomad, lets loose with a tirade at the people he simply calls "the Chinese," the majority Han who he says will get no respite from Tibetan frustration this year — or for generations.

"After I die," the 53-year-old grizzled herder says, "my sons and grandsons will remember. They will hate the government."

On the cusp of the first anniversary of a mass revolt on the Tibetan Plateau that marked the worst ethnic unrest in China in nearly two decades, many Tibetans still seethe at living under China's thumb. Some engage in small-scale civil disobedience. Others, including monks, brazenly display photographs of the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader they revere as a God-king but that China maligns as a "beast." Nearly all gripe about a lack of religious and political freedom.

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My Comment: I am not surprised. The two ethnic groups have been openly hostile towards each other for decades. It will only take a small reason for a rebellion to start all over again.