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I am continually stunned that what goes on in Tibet -- and has for 58 years -- is completely ignored at the UN.
Quote:
Dalai Lama Calls for Tibet Probe
By TINI TRAN,
AP
Posted: 2008-03-16 10:55:27
The Dalai Lama called Sunday for an international probe into China's crackdown on protesters in Tibet. "Whether the (Chinese) government there admits or not, there is a problem. There is an ancient cultural heritage that is facing serious danger," he said. "Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place."
The demonstrations were the fiercest challenge to Beijing's rule in the region in nearly two decades, leading to sympathy protests elsewhere and embarrassing China ahead of the Olympic Games.
Along with 80 killed, some 72 people were injured in the protests, said Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the exiles. He said the figures were confirmed by multiple sources inside Tibet who had counted corpses. China's state media said 10 people died.
Meanwhile, hundreds of armed police and soldiers patrolled the streets of Lhasa two days after Tibetans torched buildings and stoned Chinese residents. Hong Kong Cable TV reported some 200 military vehicles, carrying 40 to 60 armed soldiers each, drove into the city center of Lhasa on Sunday.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on China "to exercise restraint in dealing with these protests," while the State Department issued a travel alert for Americans in the region. Her statement also called for China to release monks and others jailed for protesting.
China restricts access to Tibet for foreign media, making it difficult to independently verify the casualties and the scale of protests and suppression.
The latest unrest began Monday on the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. Tibet was effectively independent for decades before communist troops entered in 1950. (Gross over-simplification -- Tibet has been independent, semi-independent, conquered, and everything in-between for the past thousand-plus years. It has always regarded itself as a separate and independent nation and is a distinctive ethnic people.)
Initially, the protests were led by Buddhist monks demanding the release of other detained monks. Their demands spiraled to include cries for Tibet's independence and turned violent Friday when police tried to stop a group of protesting monks. Pent-up grievances against Chinese rule came to the fore, as Tibetans directed their anger against Chinese and their shops, hotels and other businesses.
Amid the clampdown that followed, foreign tourists in Lhasa were told to leave, a hotel manager and travel guide said, with the guide adding that some were turned back at the airport.
Also in recent days, demonstrations by Tibetan exiles and their supporters sprouted up in neighboring Nepal, New York, Switzerland and Australia.
So far, international criticism of the crackdown in Tibet has been mild. The U.S. and European Union called for Chinese restraint without any threats of an Olympic boycott or other sanctions.
The details emerging from witness accounts and government statements suggested Beijing was preparing a methodical campaign to deal with the unrest - one that if carefully modulated would minimize bloodshed and avoid wrecking Beijing's grand plans for the Aug. 8-24 Olympics.
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oderint dum metuant (Latin for 'let them hate, so long as they fear').
Well, in truth I'm actually not a total hawk, but I'm not a dove either -- I'm more like an angry pigeon flying over the political arena after a really big meal. -Abba Gav
Trying to stop a group of protesting Buddhist monks - people who follow paths of non-violence and who's spiritual goal is to eliminate suffering in all sentient beings.
The left are too enamored with the Palestinians to pay attention to the far worse problems of the Tibetans or Kurds or Darfur or Somalis or ...others with equally strong or stronger claims, I guess. Or maybe the idea that China is 'Communist' -- despite the obvious fact that it is now totally switched to simple up-front old-style Fascist -- makes the far left think it couldn't possibly be the aggressor. And it's not just being pro-Islam, because they didn't even sneeze at Chechnya. Maybe it's something about Arabs, specifically.
__________________
oderint dum metuant (Latin for 'let them hate, so long as they fear').
Well, in truth I'm actually not a total hawk, but I'm not a dove either -- I'm more like an angry pigeon flying over the political arena after a really big meal. -Abba Gav
Closet Buddhists. Some not so closet. I have a couple such-bumper-stuck friends, and they are not the far-left by any stretch, although a few I've known in the past were. One thing they do have in common is a hearty mistrust of China.
__________________
oderint dum metuant (Latin for 'let them hate, so long as they fear').
Well, in truth I'm actually not a total hawk, but I'm not a dove either -- I'm more like an angry pigeon flying over the political arena after a really big meal. -Abba Gav
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