Matt Schiavenza From the Dragon to the Apple- A Sinophile in New York

Violence in Tibet

The Western media reports today that protests by Buddhist monks in Tibet have turned violent, with at least two reported dead and many more injured. The Chinese sent soldiers into Lhasa, Tibet's capital, and met resistance from many of the local ethnic Tibetans. The New York Times reports:

Violence erupted Friday morning in a busy market area of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, as Buddhist monks and other ethnic Tibetans brawled with Chinese security forces in clashes that brought unconfirmed reports of multiple deaths. Witnesses say angry Tibetan crowds burned shops, cars, military vehicles and at least one tourist bus.
The chaotic scene was the latest, and most violent, confrontation in a series of protests that began on Monday and now represent a major challenge to the ruling Communist Party as it prepares to play host to the Olympic Games in August. By Saturday morning, Chinese armored vehicles were reportedly patrolling the center of the city.

Beijing is facing the most serious and prolonged demonstrations in Tibet since the late 1980s, when it suppressed a rebellion there with lethal force that left scores, and possibly hundreds, of ethnic Tibetans dead. The leadership is clearly alarmed that a wave of negative publicity could disrupt its elaborate plans for the Olympics and its hopes that the games will showcase its rising influence and prosperity rather than domestic turmoil.

The Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, and his supporters around the world, have embraced the protesters in Lhasa. Thousands of Buddhists in neighboring India and Nepal took to the streets Friday in solidarity. Concerned that the protests might spread elsewhere in China, the authorities appeared to be moving the military police into other regions with large Tibetan populations.

The Guardian adds:

About a dozen monks were reportedly detained on Monday, when several hundred from the Sera and Drepung monasteries took to the streets to mark the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Beijing. Similar protests took place in the Ganden and Lutsang monasteries in Qinghai (known in Tibetan as Amdo) where hundreds of monks reportedly chanted slogans calling for their exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, to return.

The upsurge in activism comes amid growing frustration with the lack of progress in talks between representatives of the Dalai Lama and Beijing.

I also scanned Xinhua, China's official news agency, for their comment and came across this brief comment:

西藏自治区负责人说，近日，拉萨极少数人进行打、砸、抢、烧破坏活动，扰乱社会秩序，危害人民群众生命财产安全。有足够证据证明这是达赖集团有组织、有预谋、精心策划的，已引起西藏各族群众的强烈愤慨和严厉谴责。西藏有关部门正在依法采取有效措施予以妥善处置。我们完全有能力维护西藏社会稳定，维护西藏各族群众生命财产安全。极少数人破坏西藏安定和谐的图谋不得人心，是注定要失败的。

According to authorities in the Tibet Autonomous Region, recently a small minority in Lhasa are proceeding to hit, smash, rob, burn, sabotage, and otherwise throw society into disorder, threatening the safety, property, and lives of the masses. There is enough evidence to show that this has all been organized by the Dalai Lama clique, who with premeditation and careful plotting fomented the violent indignation and severe denunciation by the ethnic Tibetans. The department concerned within Tibet is now adopting effective measures to deal with the situation appropriately. We all have the ability to safeguard the stability of the Tibetan society, as well as the life, safety, and property of all ethnic groups within the region. The small minority that destroys the harmonious security of Tibet do not enjoy popular support and are doomed to failure.

(very rough translation by yours truly. Will my band of brilliant commenters please correct any mistakes? If someone provides a better translation I'll post it on the main page.)

As the Olympics approach, China understands that any heavy-handed response to internal dissent will attract condemnation from the international community, while at the same time the government knows it cannot let the already fragile situation in Tibet spiral out of control. These types of stories, I bet, will proliferate in the upcoming months.

UPDATE:
Here's the official translation of the Xinhua piece published in China Daily:

The government of the Tibet Autonomous Region said on Friday there was enough evidence to prove the recent sabotage in Lhasa was "organized, premeditated, and masterminded" by the Dalai Lama clique. The incident, which included beatings, looting, and arson, disrupted the public order and jeopardized lives and property, an official said. The sabotage has aroused the indignation of, and is strongly condemned by, the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet, he said.