By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
BEIJING, China – Tibet will mark the 50th anniversary of the failed uprising against Chinese rule on March 10, 2009. Because of the failed uprising, the Dalai Lama fled the country and established the exiled government in India. Now, Chinese authorities imposed “de facto martial law”, and deployed police and soldiers throughout Tibet to prevent a repeat of last year’s riot on the anniversary.
Last March, the riots erupted in the region after Chinese security forces suppressed a protest by monks in Lhasa. At least 19 Han civilians were killed in Lhasa, according to Xinhua, the state news agency. About 220 Tibetans were killed, nearly 1,300 were injured and nearly 7,000 were detained or imprisoned after the crackdown, according to the Tibetan government in exile, which is based in Dharamsala, India.
Now, Chinese leaders are preparing for the worst situation. They ordered the largest troop deployment since the Sichuan earthquake last spring. Foreign journalists are not allowed in the region. Police patrols have increased near Buddhist monasteries and the number of checkpoints has increased.
Chinese officials also confirmed a tight security buildup along Tibet’s border with the Himalayan regions of India and Nepal. The Chinese government has warned that pro-independence Tibetans not to enter Tibet. The Ministry of Public Security’s Border Control Department says it’s preparing to “fully protect the stability of Tibet’s frontier region”.
There are no signs of protests now, residents say, because the city is completely locked down. “The security forces are everywhere, on every corner, day and night,” said a Tibetan woman. When asked her opinion about the current situation, she says, “we Tibetans who do business is under a lot of pressure, so we have to keep quiet. I can’t say I disagree with the policies of the Chinese. It’s their country, and we’re only a minority.”
Human rights watch reported that hundreds of Tibetans are still unaccounted for a year after China cracked down on March 2008 protests. The report shows that thousands of arbitrary arrests, and more than 100 trials pushed through the judicial system.
For more information, please see:
BBC – Deep divisions over Tibet anniversary – 09 March 2009
Human Rights Watch – China: Hundreds of Tibetan Detainees and Prisoners Unaccounted for – 09 March 2009
New York Times – 50 Years After Revolt, Clampdown on Tibetans – 05 March 2009
Washington Post – Tibetans Rally 50 Years After Uprising – 09 March 2009
Voice of American – China Braces for Protests on 50th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising – 10 March 2009
