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International | China
International | China
Grinding wheels roll on Tibet
constant fear under Chinese repression.” The next day around 600 monks staged a protest in front of the Lhasa police headquarters demanding the release of the detained monks. Sporadic
Joydeep Bhattacharjee Aggressive crackdown on the Tibetan protestors, who made a desperate attempt this month to attain freedom from the Chinese rule, has once again brought forth China’s intolerance to any kind of movement or protest that may pose a threat to its government or the current citadel. The ongoing protest by the Tibetans since March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed rebellion led by the Dalai Lama in 1959, has been scuttled by the militarized police and that followed only after gagging the international press from reporting anything on the mechanism adopted for curbing such wave of protests. The press members from foreign media houses along with the tourists were asked to vacate Tibet hours before military crackdown. There was least respect for Human Rights and utter disregard to the views of different countries, which chose to suggest for some restrain. 36
April 08
The unrest has however spread across the world and the voice of protest could be heard not only in India or Nepal, but also in London, where Tibetan protesters gather near Chinese Embassy to express their anguish over the repressive government. This has no doubt put the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership into a dilemma — violent repression risks further international condemnation just months before the Beijing Olympic Games, while any concessions will encourage separatism elsewhere in China, as well as in Taiwan, where a presidential election was due in few days time (March 22). Moreover, Beijing is acutely aware that protests in Tibet have the potential to trigger wider social discontent over unemployment and the highest levels of inflation in 12 years, say some experts from across the border. The current political atmosphere there resembles the late 1980s, when hostility to rising prices and the im-
protests last week led to more arrests in the city. What is most surprising is that even in the 21st century, when most developed nations are become more
and more aware about human rights and democracy (take the instance of America’s war against Iraq, Afghanistan, and other such countries in the name of terrorism), such repressive action by the Chinese force failed to attract similar attention – thanks to the concept of war on terror that guided by economic interest, convenience and political understanding among those countries. Hence, small skirmishes on the streets of Myanmar, merciless killings of protesters in Tiananmen Square and the latest pitch battle with the Tibetans did not figure significantly in the agenda of so called “developed countries” of the worlds. According to a report filed by an impartial media person, “local police prevented monks from the Ramoche monastery from demonstrating. This provoked an angry response from ordinary Tibetan residents, who have been treated as second-class citizens, economically and culturally, for decades.
pact of market reform fuelled a wave of protests. In March 1989, the death of the Tibetan religious leader, the 10th Panchan Lama, became the focus of a series of riots in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. President Hu Jintao, then the CCP boss of Tibet, imposed martial law in the city. These developments anticipated far more explosive events a few months later, with nationwide protests of workers and students, culminating in the bloody military crackdown in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4. Hu’s repression in Tibet won him the support of the CCP leadership to become Deng Xiaoping’s heir. The latest unrest erupted after Chinese police arrested 60 monks from the Drepung monastery, who were protesting on the anniversary of the 1959 CIA-backed revolt. On the same day, the Dalai Lama declared from exile in India: “For nearly six decades Tibetans have had to live in a state of April 08
37
International | China
Grinding wheels roll on Tibet
constant fear under Chinese repression.” The next day around 600 monks staged a protest in front of the Lhasa police headquarters demanding the release of the detained monks. Sporadic
Joydeep Bhattacharjee Aggressive crackdown on the Tibetan protestors, who made a desperate attempt this month to attain freedom from the Chinese rule, has once again brought forth China’s intolerance to any kind of movement or protest that may pose a threat to its government or the current citadel. The ongoing protest by the Tibetans since March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed rebellion led by the Dalai Lama in 1959, has been scuttled by the militarized police and that followed only after gagging the international press from reporting anything on the mechanism adopted for curbing such wave of protests. The press members from foreign media houses along with the tourists were asked to vacate Tibet hours before military crackdown. There was least respect for Human Rights and utter disregard to the views of different countries, which chose to suggest for some restrain. 36
April 08
The unrest has however spread across the world and the voice of protest could be heard not only in India or Nepal, but also in London, where Tibetan protesters gather near Chinese Embassy to express their anguish over the repressive government. This has no doubt put the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership into a dilemma — violent repression risks further international condemnation just months before the Beijing Olympic Games, while any concessions will encourage separatism elsewhere in China, as well as in Taiwan, where a presidential election was due in few days time (March 22). Moreover, Beijing is acutely aware that protests in Tibet have the potential to trigger wider social discontent over unemployment and the highest levels of inflation in 12 years, say some experts from across the border. The current political atmosphere there resembles the late 1980s, when hostility to rising prices and the im-
protests last week led to more arrests in the city. What is most surprising is that even in the 21st century, when most developed nations are become more
and more aware about human rights and democracy (take the instance of America’s war against Iraq, Afghanistan, and other such countries in the name of terrorism), such repressive action by the Chinese force failed to attract similar attention – thanks to the concept of war on terror that guided by economic interest, convenience and political understanding among those countries. Hence, small skirmishes on the streets of Myanmar, merciless killings of protesters in Tiananmen Square and the latest pitch battle with the Tibetans did not figure significantly in the agenda of so called “developed countries” of the worlds. According to a report filed by an impartial media person, “local police prevented monks from the Ramoche monastery from demonstrating. This provoked an angry response from ordinary Tibetan residents, who have been treated as second-class citizens, economically and culturally, for decades.
pact of market reform fuelled a wave of protests. In March 1989, the death of the Tibetan religious leader, the 10th Panchan Lama, became the focus of a series of riots in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. President Hu Jintao, then the CCP boss of Tibet, imposed martial law in the city. These developments anticipated far more explosive events a few months later, with nationwide protests of workers and students, culminating in the bloody military crackdown in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4. Hu’s repression in Tibet won him the support of the CCP leadership to become Deng Xiaoping’s heir. The latest unrest erupted after Chinese police arrested 60 monks from the Drepung monastery, who were protesting on the anniversary of the 1959 CIA-backed revolt. On the same day, the Dalai Lama declared from exile in India: “For nearly six decades Tibetans have had to live in a state of April 08
37
