2008 Tibetan unrest

(and other ethnic minorities) autonomous areas. The protests erupted amidst growing frustrations with China's persecution of Tibetans and of Tibetan Buddhists, which Tibetans assert began after China's annexation in 1951. Unresolved situations remained regarding Tibet's three highest spiritual leaders - the 14th Dalai Lama and the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa both escaped to India, while the 11th Panchen Lama's location remains unknown. Photographs of the Dalai Lama remain outlawed, The protests and uprisings in Tibet since 1950 include earlier mass protests in Lhasa—the 1959 Tibetan uprising, and the 1987 protests which were likewise led by monks from Sera monastery, Drepung monastery and Ganden monastery. Of the 1989 bloody suppression in Lhasa, journalist Jim Yardley wrote:"In the past China has not hesitated to crush major protests in Tibet or to jail disobedient monks. [Former] President Hu Jintao, who [was] also the general secretary of the Communist Party, served as party boss in Tibet during a violent crackdown in 1989. His support for the bloody suppression of unrest that year earned him the good will of Deng Xiaoping, then the paramount leader, and led directly to his elevation to the Politburo Standing Committee and eventually to China’s top leadership posts." The Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) proposed the Middle Way Approach to address the government of China's policies in Tibet. Specific agreements offered to China include the Five Point Peace Plan in 1987, the Strasbourg proposal in 1988, and the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy in 2008. Tibetan loyalty to the Dalai Lama is considered disloyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), The CTA also states, "[u]nder the guise of the economic and social development, Beijing encourages its population to migrate to Tibet with the clear aim to marginalize Tibetans from the economic, educational, political and social life of the region." marginalize Tibetans and create simmering socio-economic issues in Lhasa. According to the Central Tibetan Administration, environmental concerns also motivated the protests. Some of Asia's most important rivers flow from the Tibetan plateau, and "are being polluted and diminished by careless industrialisation and unplanned irrigation" as stated by the Dalai Lama. Prices also continued to rise in other parts of the country, while Tibetan youth stated that equal access to jobs and education is another economic issue related to the mass settling of Han Chinese. == Protests in Tibet ==

Lhasa According to a report by the Human Rights Watch, a group of 300–400 protesting monks from Drepung monastery marched to Lhasa's center on 10 March in midday demanding religious freedom, and their route was blocked by police. Outside the monastery, the monks began a sitting protest and were surrounded by riot police and armed military units. Radio Free Asia reported that an eyewitness saw tear gas being fired into the crowd. The Human Rights Watch report stated hundreds of monks and nuns from Ganden Monastery and Mani Nunnery also began marching into Lhasa on 11 March. According to the Toronto Star, businesses that had Chinese markings were targeted to be burned, smashed or looted. When Chinese police and military units reentered Lhasa on 14 March, reports state tear gas canisters were launched and shootings began. Amnesty International reports that machine guns were used. State hospitals were reported by Human Rights Watch as closed to protestors by Chinese authorities, and reports of wounded and killed Tibetans were suppressed. Chinese state media reported non-Tibetan-owned businesses and banks were robbed and houses were attacked and burned down, including government buildings and schools. Police used tear gas and cattle prods. According to Chinese state media, 18 civilians were killed by rioters. A crowd of 70-80 Tibetan youths tried to storm the Lhasa Great Mosque and set fire to the front gate. A Chinese businessman reported that many Hui Muslim stores were burnt. Also burnt were stationery shops, banks, and a wholesale market at Tsomtsikhang, where many shops are owned by Han Chinese and Hui Muslims. Amdo/Gansu On 14 March, 200 Labrang Monastery monks led a crowd of 300 people in demonstrations outside of their monastery in Gansu. The Guardian reported witness accounts of security vehicles being set on fire and Tibetan mob violence. The clashes centered around the Gelug school's Labrang monastery, one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in Tibet. There were reports of government offices being damaged by the protesters, as well as reports of police using tear gas and shooting at protesters. In Machu on 16 March, rioters set a government building on fire, while clashes continued on 18 March. In Hezou on 19 March, footage emerged showing protestors tearing Chinese flags and raising Tibetan flags in their place. China's Xinhua News Agency reported the cost of damage in Gansu at an estimated ¥230 million (US$32.7 million). The Tibetan government-in-exile stated that 19 Tibetans were shot and killed on 18 March. Amdo/Qinghai Chinese authorities arrested twelve Tibetan monks after an incident in the historic region of Rebkong, which is located in the Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai (known to Tibetans as Amdo). Passports belonging to Tibetans were confiscated to prevent returns to India and the delivery of reports on events to Tibetan exiles. Tourists and foreign residents were surveilled and informed about their possible expulsion in case they got involved in Tibetan protests. There are other reports that police shot between 13 and 30 protesters after a police station was set on fire, reports of at least one policeman being killed, and the burning three or four police vans. Reports on the exact number of deaths were difficult due to the expulsion of journalists. The Chinese government stated that it opened fire on protestors in self defense on 20 March, reporting that four were wounded. In Ngawa Town, after days of protests by 3,000 monks and 300 nuns, 27 of the nuns at the Kirti monasteries and nunneries were arrested by Chinese police forces on 20 March. Photographs of killed protestors near Kirti were circulated. Radio Free Asia reported demonstrations in Kardze on 23 April, and on 11–12 May when 14 of the nuns demanding the release of two arrested in April were beaten and detained. The report states nuns were from nearby nunneries, and armed Chinese forces continued to patrol the area. Other protests were held in Chori. The BBC reported that around 16 March, 600 monks from Lhasa were flown to Chengdu by Chinese security forces. == Responses from Chinese government and Dalai Lama==

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao blamed the Dalai Lama's supporters for the recent violence in Tibet, and asserted that security forces exercised restraint in their response. The Dalai Lama called for both sides to avoid using violence and called on Chinese leaders to "address the long simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people." and proposed to resign as the political leader if the violence continued. He noted in another report that the rioting "seemed to be primarily an eruption of ethnic hatred". On 14 April, Chinese forces claimed that they had found semi-automatic firearms hidden throughout a temple in Ngawa. Chinese police officers told Chinese reporters, "they were modified semi-automatic weapons." which would represent a deployment of up to 4,000 troops. The Chinese authorities ordered all Hong Kong and foreign journalists to leave Lhasa. According to General Yang Deping, regular military troops from the People's Liberation Army were not deployed. Chinese authorities were also reportedly concerned that the Tibetan protests could "embolden activists in restive Xinjiang province" to organise street protests as well.In addition to sealing off monasteries, an eyewitness at Sera Monastery claimed, "they [Chinese authorities] were grabbing monks, kicking and beating them." In Ngawa, police fired at the crowd after protestors reportedly burned down government buildings including the local police station, destroyed vehicles including police vehicles, stabbed police officers with swords, and attempted to take firearms from the police, during which the police fired warning shots to no avail. PRC and Dalai Lama dialogues On March 19, Premier Wen Jiabao condemned the Dalai Lama's alleged role in the riot, but said the possibility for a dialogue remained open if he renounced Tibetan independence, and if he "recognizes Tibet and Taiwan as inalienable parts of the Chinese territory". The Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated he seeks autonomy, not independence, citing the need for Tibet to develop as a modern nation. On May 4, two representatives of the PRC government, Zhu Weiqun and Sitar met with two representatives of the Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. The two sides exchanged views and agreed that a further round of talks should be held at an appropriate time. Plans for the meeting had been announced by the Xinhua News Agency on April 25, and was confirmed by the Dalai Lama's spokesman. This was the first high-level dialogue between the Dalai Lama's representatives and the PRC government since the March unrest, and was the continuation of a series of talks between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama's representatives, including his immediate family and close aides. A second meeting was scheduled for June 11. However, due to the 2008 Sichuan earthquakes, the two sides agreed to postpone the meeting. The second meeting was held on July 1. == Casualties and fatalities ==

China's state media Xinhua News Agency reported on early Saturday, 15 March, that 10 people had been burned to death by Tibetans, including two hotel employees and two shop owners. It also reported that the victims were all innocent civilians and that most of them were business people. The state-run People's Daily reported on 21 March that, according to the Tibet regional government, 18 civilians and 1 police officer had been confirmed dead in the unrest by the night of Friday, 14 March. It also reported the number of injured civilians rose to 382 from 325, 58 of whom were critically wounded. 241 police officers were injured, 23 of whom were critically wounded. On 17 March, Tibet Autonomous Region governor Champa Phuntsok announced that 16 had been confirmed dead over the weekend's violence and dozens injured. Other sources published after the same press conference indicate that China put the death toll in Lhasa at 13. then increased the death count by Chinese forces to more than 140 people, as reported on 5 April. The Central Tibetan Administration's number of Tibetans killed since increased to 220, including subsequent deaths through to January 2009. A month after the unrest began on 10 March, the Dalai Lama stated that since the beginning of the demonstrations in Tibet at least 400 people had been killed, and thousands of others arrested. Foreign tourists and Chinese eyewitnesses in Lhasa said "they saw and heard repeated gunfire there on Friday", 14 March. On 28 March, the International Herald Tribune reported 5 female retail workers had been burned alive when Tibetan rioters set fire to the Yishion clothing store where they worked. The article noted one of them was Tibetan. On April 30, state press acknowledged that a pro-independence gunman and a police officer were killed in a gun battle. In October 2009, four Tibetans were executed in connection with their involvement with the unrest. == Arrests and disappearances ==

The BBC, sourcing information from a Human Rights Watch report, reported that "witnesses recounted that monks who initially tried to go through the police lines were thrown to the ground, kicked, and taken away." while more than 1,000 monks, nuns, students and citizens had disappeared by 2008. Another report from Amnesty International stated 5,600 Tibetans were arrested through to January 2009. and claimed that "Tibetans are sometimes secretly killed in detention". The TCHRD also reported that a 38-year-old Tibetan woman, who was involved in protests on 16 and 17 March in Ngaba County, died after reportedly being tortured in a Chinese prison. Following her release, the government hospital allegedly refused to admit her. According to a 10 October 2009 report by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, at least 670 Tibetans had been imprisoned in 2009 for activities that included peaceful protest or leaking information to the outside world. On 7 November, the state-run Lhasa Evening News reported a retired doctor was sentenced in Lhasa to 15 years imprisonment on espionage charges for passing information to the Central Tibetan Administration. The sentencing corresponds to the PRC's concealment of hospital records, as Human Rights Watch reported. == Media coverage ==

During the protests and demonstrations, Chinese authorities prohibited foreign and Hong Kong media from entering Tibet and expelled those already there. Two German reporters, Georg Blume of Die Zeit and Kristin Kupfer of Profil, left Tibet on March 18 due to pressure from the authorities, and James Miles, a correspondent from The Economist, said that China "insisted however that when my permit did expire on the 19th that I had to leave. I asked for an extension and they said decisively no." Domestic Chinese media initially downplayed the riots, but this changed relatively quickly as they began to focus on the violence against Han citizens. There was speculation that the violence would affect attendance at the 2008 Olympic Games, particularly amid pressure for leaders to boycott the games, but the calls for boycott went largely unheeded. Tania Branigan of The Guardian reported the Chinese government blocked foreign broadcasters and websites, and denied journalists access to protest areas. Websites such as YouTube, The Guardian website, portions of the Yahoo! portal, and sections of The Times website had been restricted. The Chinese media accused Western media of reporting with inaccuracy and little independent cross-checking. The Chinese state-run newspaper China Daily accused Western media of deliberately misrepresenting the situation. Among these accusations involved CNN's use of a cropped picture that shows only a military truck but not rioters who were attacking it. The CNN image was later replaced with one that was cropped differently. On 24 March, the German TV news channel RTL Television disclosed that a photograph depicting rioters had been erroneously captioned. Separately, another German station, n-tv, admitted that it had mistakenly aired footage from Nepal during a story on Chinese riots. The Agence France-Presse reported that Chinese students abroad had set up the website Anti-CNN to collect evidence of "one-sided and untrue" foreign reporting. Media accused of falsified reporting include CNN, Fox News, The Times, Sky News, Der Spiegel, and the BBC. Der Spiegel has rejected the accusations in an article. According to The New York Times, CNN apologized on May 18 over some comments made on April 9. Chinese TV channels aired footage of anti-Chinese riots in Lhasa and the aftermath which was broadcast for several hours. China's Communist Party newspaper, the ''People's Daily'', called on the government to "resolutely crush the 'Tibet independence' forces' conspiracy and sabotaging activities". The ''People's Daily'' also accused the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration of orchestrating the protests in its commentary. On 17 March, the Toronto Star reported the accounts of various Canadian witnesses who were caught up in the violence. One Canadian witnessed an attack by a mob on a motorcyclist, others recounted how the violence of the riots forced them to escape with help from taxi drivers and guides, and another described how they intervened to save a Han Chinese man from a mob. The Agence France-Presse and Deutsche Welle reported on the decision by the Chinese government, which allowed a small group of reporters to tour Tibet. The journalists allowed to tour Tibet included those from The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Financial Times, Kyodo News Agency, the Korean Broadcasting System, Al-Jazeera, and the Associated Press. The journalists were kept under close control while in Lhasa. Chinese authorities said the limited number of journalists permitted to attend and the restrictions on their movements were based on logistical considerations. On 27 March, the media tour through Lhasa was disrupted by a group of detained monks from Jokhang Monastery. Reports from Taiwanese journalists also invited on the tour stated that the Jokhang monks told them that they had been locked down in the temple even though they had not participated in the riots, and implored the journalists to report the information. Padma Choling, the vice-chairman of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, stated that they were locked down pending police interviews in relation to the riots, and that they were released once interviewed. He also promised that the monks involved in the protest would be "dealt with" according to law. The Tibetan activist group International Campaign for Tibet stated on 28 March that it feared for the welfare and whereabouts of the monks which spoke out during the media tour, specifically those monks from Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery, Ganden Monastery and Ramoche Temple. The group did not explain why it identified four monasteries when the protest involved only monks from Jokhang. Choling later told reporters the monks would not be punished. Detained monks at Labrang Monastery also reportedly spoke to the journalists on tour, and likewise implored them to report their detainment. ==International reaction==

, California, on March 17, 2008|241x241pxAccording to Wen Jiabao, the Premier of the People's Republic of China, attacks on between ten and twenty Chinese embassies and consulates occurred around the same time as attacks on non-Tibetan interests in the Tibet Autonomous Region and several other ethnic Tibetan areas. According to an article by Doug Saunders published in The Globe and Mail, the protests were loosely coordinated by a group of full-time organizers hired by two umbrella groups that were loyal to the Tibetan government in exile. Documents were sent to more than 150 Tibet support groups around the world giving them detailed notes on how to behave when organizing similar disruptions as the Olympic flame made its six-month trip around the world. This included advice on maintaining non-violence and following the Dalai Lama's opposition to Tibetan national independence. Protesters were to advocate a more autonomous Tibet within China. However, many of the protestors did not follow this advice. Doug Saunders further stated that the torch-relay protests had no relationship with the unrest in Tibet. == Impact on the 2008 Summer Olympics ==

There were rumors that some athletes were considering boycotting the 2008 Summer Olympics over the unrest. The vice-president of the International Olympic Committee discouraged this, as well as the European Union and the Olympic Committees of Europe and Australia, who condemned politicizing sport. The 14th Dalai Lama also reiterated that he was against any boycott. The attendance of government leaders at the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was watched by the media, because some groups called for a boycott of the ceremony on both human rights and Tibetan violence grounds. Nonetheless, by the end of July 2008, the leaders of more than 80 countries had decided to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, more than in any of the preceding Olympics. one German chancellor said that there was "no link to Tibet". Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk was the one European head of government to boycott the opening ceremonies because of the violence in Tibet. On 20 March, the U.S. Department of State issued a warning to U.S. citizens attending the Beijing Olympics, stating that "Americans' conversations and telephones could be monitored and their rooms could be searched without their knowledge or consent". == Aftermath ==

According to the ''People's Daily'', normalcy returned on 24 March to some affected areas in Sichuan Province, as schools, shops and restaurants reopened to the public. The Open Constitution Initiative (OCI), operated by several Weiquan lawyers and intellectuals, issued a paper in May 2009 challenging the official narrative and suggesting that the protests were a response to economic inequities, Han Chinese migration, and religious sentiments. The OCI recommended that Chinese authorities better respect and protect the rights and interests of the Tibetan people, including religious freedom. == See also ==