The Chinese have stepped up their battle against protesters seeking autonomy for Tibet the Chinese province of Sichuan. Today, TimesOnline reports that troops, last night, opened fire on protesters and several Tibetan monks, killing at least eight. This comes after they searched a monastery and destroyed photos and desecrating other materials.
The attack coming as the Olympic Torch is scheduled to travel through London will undoubtedly stir emotions and trigger protests in the UK. Chinese authorities are trying to open the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, to tourists by May 1. Their efforts to squelch protests and any activity that could embarrass the Chinese government during the upcoming games has drawn worldwide attention.
Personally, I think a boycott of the games would be in order. China has no business hosting them to begin with. Their dismal human rights record would seem to run counter to the spirit of the games. Of course the Olympic sponsors most likely have business interests in China and so the games will go on.
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this slavedog totally agrees SIR. the current lockdown in Tibet is awful, and the scary thing is, the news i have heard from friends, fellow Buddhists and my own research proves shocking and scary to say the least - for example, Tibetans are 'encouraged' not to talk to tourists, and if they do are scared to say anything less than complimentary towards Chinese rule. what scares this slavedog more than anything SIR is how their is this horrible darkness stifling Tibet's people and culture that has terrifying comparisons with Hitler's views and actions.
some examples are:
in late 2007, six students from Lhasa University were arrested for handing out pro-Tibet leaflets - nobody has heard from them since.
all Buddhist monasteries are heavily monitored, and if any speeches by the Dalai Lama are found in monks rooms they are immediately arrested and interrogated - an 18 year-old monk was recently arrested for having been found to have written 'free Tibet' in a book. He was sentanced to three years in jail.
all monasteries that are popular with tourists are heavily monitored by police and government officials in plain clothes to maintain the pretence that there freedom.
hanging a Tibetan flag carries the risk of life in prison, torture or death. you can be gunned down on the spot for simply protesting against the Chinese government.
nomadic Tibetans are being forcibly moved into specifically built camps, and their land and stock taken. these camps are often situated in the middle of nowhere - too far from any town to make earning a living possible. thievery and alcoholism is now a big problem, and a way of life is being extinguished.
any Tibetan woman found having a child 'out of quota' under Chinas one child policy is given 'the choice' of a fine they can not pay or sterilization - those who can't pay the fine are forcibly taken from their homes and given the sterilization against their will.
here is a quote from a woman with personal experience of such a thing from a documentary this slavedog recently watched that was filmed in Tibet undercover for 3 months at great risk:
"It was so painful. Apparently they cut the Fallopian tubes and stich them up. But when they opened me up they pulled them out by the roots. It was agonising. They didn't use anaesthetic, they just smeared something on my stomach and carried out the sterilization. Apart from the aspirin for the pain there were no other drugs. The day after the operation I had to look after myself - if I needed a drip I had to pay for it myself. I was so frightened. I wasn't the only one - about half a dozen women in our village had to undergo sterilization. They come to your door to fetch you by force, they threaten to confiscate stoves and anything valuable from your house. SO people get frightened and go for the sterilization. Some people were physically damaged by the operation, they have limps and have to drag their hips."
(the Chinese government claims that the '1 child policy' does not apply to Tibetans, but this womans experience is far from unique - in 2002 a UN investigation found that "women in Tibet are subjected to forced sterilization, forced abortion, coercive birth control policies, and the monitoring of menstrual cycles"
those lucky enough to have "good connections" can buy a sterilization certificate for around 1000 Yuan, but the majority will never be able to afford such a price. it is estimated that population growth in nomadic Tibetans alone has dropped by 1million in the past 10 years.
any business has to be conducted under law in Mandarin - so Tibetans are placed at a significant disadvantage. it is estimated that half the population of Lhasa is now Quxian-Chinese, and the vast majority of businesses are Chinese-owned.
it is estimated that Tibet's oil reserves are worth somewhere around four trillion dollars.
when all of this is considered, it's not hard to see the bigger picture here...
FREE TIBET
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