Violent Crackdowns in India and Tibet on Tibetan Uprising Day
by Danny Fisher
In how many countries will we have to watch Buddhist monks mistreated, abused, and even killed?
Disturbing news today regarding Tibetan Uprising Day demonstrations in Asia. This from Beijing, courtesy of the Associated Press:
- Chinese police used tear gas to disperse several hundred Tibetan Buddhist monks who gathered for a second day of protests near the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, Radio Free Asia reported Wednesday.
More than 1,000 armed police and security personnel surrounded an estimated 500 to 600 monks from the Sera monastery Tuesday as they marched near a police station, and police fired tear gas into the crowd, one witness told the RFA’s Tibetan service.
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The latest incident came a day after Buddhist monks staged two major protests in a bold, public challenge to China’s rule, using the anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Beijing rule in 1959.
Several hundred monks from the Drepung monastery began their march Monday afternoon, splitting into three groups heading in different directions, an eyewitness monk told the Free Tibet Campaign, another advocacy group.
One group shouted “Free Tibet” as they walked until they were broken up at a checkpoint and dragged away from each other by police, he said. Some of the monks were arrested while those who were not returned to the monastery around midnight, he said.
Things aren’t much better in India. Earlier this week, I wrote about Tibetans marching in Dharamsala despite a police order banning exiles from leaving the area. (The ban took effect after local officials received a special recommendation from the Indian government.) CNN offers the upsetting footage below of Indian police rounding up marchers, many of them monastics.
It’s very moving to see these monastics protesting with such non-violent dignity. I hope the demonstrations retain this spirit. One day, perhaps, they will triumph.
As an Indian myself, I was very saddened by the way the protesters were mishandled. I think countries all over the world need to stand up to China and ask it to stop it’s human rights violation. Though there is a fat chance of that happening because of the financial interests involved.
You are kidding right? It was peaceful demonstration turned large riot in Lhasa, fueled by ethnic tensions which required heavy police presence. Read some history of the place. Or try the article before for a description of events.
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10875823
That’s the problem with blogging today. Everybody’s an Einstein devoting 2 minutes to world’s ills. If they could only have the power to make the world right..
[...] died from torture in a Chinese detention center in Lhasa. Kalden was one of 300 monks from Drepung arrested last March on their way to a protest of Chinese rule in downtown [...]