200 Tibetan protesters arrested in Nepal

Submitted by WW4 Report on Thu, 05/08/2008 - 22:44

Some 300 Tibetan protesters, including many Buddhist monks and nuns, tried to storm the Chinese Embassy in Nepal May 8, kicking the metal gates and throwing banners inside the fortified compound before police pushed them back. More than 200 were detained. "We want our freedom. Stop China," they chanted as they skirmished with police. (AP, May 8) The protest came as the Olympic torch made the final, televised ascent along Mount Everest's icy ridge, crossing from Nepal into Tibet. (AP, May 8)

Meanwhile, in Ngaba County, Sichuan province, a Tibetan woman in died after being subjected to torture by Chinese prison guards, according to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). The 38 year-old mother of four was arrested after participating in peaceful protests on March 18. She was released March 26, but her health never recovered. According to the TCHRD: "At the time of her release from the prison, her health was in an extremely critical condition. There were many bruise marks on her body, she was unable to speak and eat food, constantly vomiting and could hardly breathe properly." (TCHRD, May 5)

See our last posts on Nepal and Tibet.

Autonomy or "Free Tibet"?

Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Fri, 05/09/2008 - 18:07

Are there divisions within the Tibetan movement, or are the Tibetan exile leaders showing one face to the world and another to their own followers? The most militant Tibetan protests in exile (chiefly in India and Nepal) have been led by the Tibetan Youth Congress, which Xinhua May 4 predictably accuses of being a "terrorist" organization. It quotes Bi Hua of the Beijing-based China Tibetology Research Center (CTRC) charging the TYC "sought mutual support from international terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaida and East Turkistan groups." He also claims its membership broadly overlaps with that of the Tibetan Government in Exile. Yet in an interview with the Nepali Times, Dolma Chomo, both a leader of the Nepal-Tibet Solidarity Forum (which "has been coordinating the Tibetan protests in Kathmandu") and a member of the Tibetan exile government, fairly explicitly seeks to disassociate himself from the hardline positions of the TYC:

What is the movement's main aim?
Let me make this clear to everyone. Contrary to what’s being said in the media, we are not leading a separatist movement. We are not saying that Tibet should not be a part of China. We know that more than 90 percent of Tibetans are happy being part of China. Our protests are against some of the policies that the Chinese government has in Tibet. We will protest until our demands have been met.

But in Kathmandu you hear "free Tibet" everywhere. There was even an attempt to burn the Chinese flag.
We are not calling for a Free Tibet. Yes, during our movement, some incensed groups may have raised that demand, and some unintended incidents have also taken place. But the police and government have flared up the peaceful movement with their violent suppression of it. Even amongst ourselves, there are people who hold different views. But our fight, as a movement, is for an autonomous Tibet.

more shameless shillery from dalai apologist Weinberg

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/10/2008 - 11:52

First, they came for the Tannu Tuva Two
and Weinberg said nothing

More pretentious performance art?

Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Sat, 05/10/2008 - 14:42

No further post from you will be approved, Anonymous, unless it explains, in detail and with references, the Tannu Tuva Two. If, as I suspect, they do not exist, you are cordially invited to have a nice life. This website is not a template for your bizarre fantasies.