Dalai Lama accuses China of Cultural Genocide

Dalai Lama raises prospect of quitting John Garnautin Beijing and Matt Wade in Dharamsala March 19, 2008

Warning … Wen Jiabao's broadcast yesterday, criticising the Dali Lama's "clique". Photo: AP THE Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, says his door is open for dialogue with the Dalai Lama, despite claiming that he has evidence proving the exiled spiritual leader "masterminded" the bloody riots that have swept through Tibet and neighbouring provinces. The Dalai Lama later said he would resign from public life if the situation in Tibet got out of control. For the first time Mr Wen also directly answered the Dalai Lama's claim that the Chinese Government had conducted "a form of cultural genocide". "Those claims that the Chinese Government is engaged in cultural genocide are nothing but lies," he said. "There is ample fact and plenty of evidence proving this incident was organised, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique." Mr Wen did not say what that evidence was, but added that the motive was to "incite the sabotage of the Olympic Games in order to achieve their unspeakable goal". In Dharamsala, India, the Dalai Lama responded to Mr Wen's accusations by inviting him to sit down and talk about the problem. "If the Chinese side … accepts the reality and addresses the Tibetan problem realistically, within a few hours we can solve this problem," he said. He said he would retire from public life if the conflict got out of control. "If things become out of control then my only option is to completely resign." However, he said he remained hopeful he would one day be able to return to Tibet. He also said he expressed his wish for protesters in Tibet "to cool down". His spokesman, Tenzin Taklha, had earlier rejected allegations the spiritual leader had instigated the protests, saying: "This was very spontaneous." Mr Wen was speaking at a news conference that is an annual event marking the end of the sitting of the National People's Congress, or legislature. The questions on Tibet were raised by CNN and Financial Times reporters. It is understood Chinese authorities were warned of the broad subject matter, but did not vet details of the questions. The Tibet riots and subsequent security crackdown have been reported but played down in official Chinese media and completely blocked in most other media and websites. Yesterday's unusually frank news conference by Mr Wen was televised live throughout China on both national and regional TV. For many Chinese it was the first opportunity to learn of the seriousness of the conflict and the intense interest it has generated around the world. Mr Wen said he was open to talks if the Dalai Lama's actions supported his verbal support for Chinese sovereignty. "As long as the Dalai recognises that Tibet is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, our door for dialogue with him is wide open," Mr Wen said. For his part, the Dalai Lama said a resolution to the problems in Tibet was necessary for China to emerge the global leader it deserved to be. "It must have moral authority in order to be a super power. The Chinese people must know that." Chinese authorities accused rioters of killing 16 "innocent civilians", saying security forces used only "non-lethal" weapons. Tibetan exile groups say that about 100 people were killed in the subsequent police crackdown. Mr Wen said the authorities had "exercised massive restraint" and "quickly quelled this incident, and protected the rights of Lhasa residents and of people of all ethnic groups in Tibet". On the streets of Beijing yesterday most Chinese interviewed by the Herald knew nothing of the Tibetan riots or had only seen brief reports. Overwhelmingly they viewed Tibet as a clean, colourful and desirable holiday destination. Wang Yuzhi, a young woman waiting for a subway train, said she had not heard of any trouble in Tibet and that she wanted to travel there this northern spring. "They are very warm, hospitable people," she said. A middle-aged man called Wang Xin said he also planned to tour Lhasa soon. "The Tibetan question is not such a big thing," he said. "I'm not concerned about safety. I'll go with a travel group." A journalist with the official Xinhua news agency told the Herald Tibet had traditionally been a war-mongering society ruled by tyrannical monks. Protesters took to the streets of Dharamsala in support of Tibet soon after Mr Wen made his comments.

BBC: China cracks down on protest news
China cracks down on protest news By Matthew Davis BBC News China has been aggressively censoring international media in an attempt to lock down information about the violent demonstrations in Tibet's capital, Lhasa. The anti-Chinese protests are an extremely sensitive issue for Beijing, which is desperate to avoid bad publicity only months before the Olympic Games. In recent days, TV broadcasts have been blacked out, websites blocked or censored by China's keyword filtering system and reporters on the ground prevented from reaching the region. The degree of censorship appears to be fluctuating and uneven, however. On Friday - said to have been the worst day of violence in Tibet since demonstrations in 1989 - the first few live interviews on BBC World with correspondent Daniel Griffiths were blocked from local transmissions. But repeat broadcasts of these interviews were allowed to go ahead. In one particular hour, correspondents talking about Tibet from London could be seen on screen, but when the story shifted to a BBC correspondent in India, TV sets in Beijing went black. None of us are doing anything illegal. It's just that it's very easy for officials in the hinterlands to stop us and ask endless questions, creating delays, or simply bar us from entering areas for unspecified security reasons Tim Johnson, Foreign journalist On Monday and Tuesday, such censorship appeared to be less frequent. Yet one line in a piece on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's news conference, by the BBC's Quentin Somerville, appears to have irked the censors. When our reporter said: "Overnight, China's deadline passed for protesters in the city to stand down - there's no immediate word on the fate of those involved in the protests", the transmission was momentarily blocked. Other broadcasters like CNN have also been affected - with transmission blocked, and reporters obstructed, amid tight controls on physical access to Tibet, which is off-limits to foreign reporters without a permit. Writing on Tuesday for CNN's In The Field blog, correspondent John Vause said he and his crew were intercepted by Chinese police, some 300km from Ngawa county in Sichuan province, where Tibetan exile groups claim Chinese security forces have killed protesters. "It had to happen - sooner or later they were going to find us and stop us. This morning they did. Chinese police, armed with those almost toy gun-looking small calibre machine guns pulled us over, asked for passports, and told us this was the end of the road," he writes. Earlier, on the China Rises blog, journalist Tim Johnson noted: "We foreign reporters all take precautions. We have to switch vehicles often. Some of us swap out sim cards in our mobile phones, or just turn them off. That way, authorities cannot triangulate mobile phone signals and figure out our locations. "None of us are doing anything illegal. It's just that it's very easy for officials in the hinterlands to stop us and ask endless questions, creating delays, or simply bar us from entering areas for unspecified security reasons." 'Connection reset' Such posts are very often invisible to the estimated 137 million internet users inside the country, however. TIBET DIVIDE China says Tibet was always part of its territory Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before 20th century 1950: China launched a military assault Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising in 1959 Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India China operates a sophisticated keyword filtering system to censor internet content, which is capable of spotting homonyms and synonyms and even some kinds of rogue punctuation that internet users might use to sidestep the censorship. Baidu, is the search engine most used by the Chinese - but this is heavily censored. When the BBC tried searching on Google inside China for stories about "Tibet", the latest news stories about the protests were listed, but the stories themselves were not opening. Searching on "Lhasa" brought up an error message saying "Connection was reset" - a familiar end to many searches for information about the protests. In recent days sites like Yahoo and Youtube have also been similarly affected. However, while there are strong efforts to stem the flow of information, the proliferation of blogs, chatrooms and mobile phones has helped information about Tibetan protests to stream out. Jeremy Goldkorn, editor of Danwei.org, which monitors China's media, said that new technology had forced the authorities to promptly acknowledge such events. "They cannot lock down a disaster anymore," Mr Goldkorn told news agency AFP. "Before the internet, it was possible in China to isolate an area because ordinary people did not have access to information, but that is not possible now." 'Glossed over' Meanwhile, Chinese state media has been giving very different accounts of the violence than those found outside the country. Chinese analysts have accused Western media of sympathising with the Tibetan people, giving prominence to critics of China's policies and reporting that hundreds of Tibetans have been injured by the security forces. For the last few days, the state media has described the protesters as a small, politically-motivated group of criminals. State television has shown images of injured civilians in hospital, saying they were beaten or burned by the mob. The security forces have been painted as innocent victims. At Premier Wen's news conference on Tuesday, he was asked four questions on Tibet by foreign journalists. The state news agency Xinhua reported the government line about calm returning to Lhasa, while many other newspapers and web portals glossed over the issue, saying merely that the premier answered many questions, including on the Tibet issue, our correspondent says. But analysts say the reporting of the protests is shaping attitudes within China, which were generally unsympathetic to Tibetans to start with. The Chinese authorities have poured billions of dollars into building houses and big infrastructure projects in Tibet. Many Chinese view the region as a backward place which they are generously paying to develop. They also view the Olympics as a focus of intense national pride. Attempts to undermine China's big moment are likely to spark anger. The BBC's Jill McGivering says the differing perceptions of the violence are having a tangible effect on relations between China and the West. In many ways they confirm the worst fears of both sides, she says. The Western version of events fuels the belief that Beijing is still a repressive government, willing to use brutal methods to crush opposition. In China, media reports match concerns that the world is ignorant, eager to demonise China and may even want to contain its rise, our correspondent says. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7302625.stm Published: 2008/03/18 15:10:09 GMT © BBC MMVIII

Photos from protest: http://cryptome.cn/tibet080316/tibet080316.htm http://cryptome.cn/tibet080315/tibet080315.htm

105 Lhasa rioters surrender to police in Tibet Wednesday, March 19, 2008 More than 100 people have reportedly surrendered to police in Tibet following the recent riots in the country's capital, Lhasa. The Chinese Government had promised leniency to any rioters who turned themselves in and a harsh punishment for anyone who continued the violent demonstrations. The Xinhua News Agency says 105 people had surrendered by late last night, but it was impossible to confirm the figure. China says 16 people were killed during the anti-Beijing riots, but Tibetan exile groups say the real death toll is around 80. - Belfast Telegraph

Chinese troops converge in Tibetan areas By GREG BAKER, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 50 minutes ago ZHONGDIAN, China - The government stepped up its manhunt Friday for protesters in last week's riots in the capital of Tibet, as thousands of troops converged on foot, trucks and helicopters to Tibetan areas of western China. ADVERTISEMENT The violence in Lhasa — a stunning show of defiance against 57 years of Chinese rule — has sparked sympathy demonstrations in neighboring provinces, prompting Beijing to blanket a huge area with troops and warn tourists and foreign journalists to stay away. China's communist leadership, embarrassed by the chaos and international criticism of its response, has blamed the unrest on the Dalai Lama and his supporters and vigorously defended its reputation as a suitable host for the Beijing Olympics. On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with the Dalai Lama in India and called on the world to denounce China's crackdown in Tibet. Photos of 21 men wanted in connection with the Lhasa riots were posted on major Chinese Internet sites. A resident in Qinghai province said about 300 troops were in the town of Zeku after monks protested Thursday outside the county government office. The woman, who did not want to give her name for fear authorities would harass her, said she did not dare leave her home and could not provide details of the demonstration. Telephones at Zeku's government and public security bureau rang unanswered. In the largely Tibetan town of Zhongdian, in the far north of Yunnan province, some 30 armed police with batons marched in the main square as residents went about their daily life. Overnight, another two dozen trucks of riot police had arrived, adding to a presence of about 400 troops. Patrols had also been set up in other nearby towns, including the tourist attraction of Tiger Leaping Gorge. In Xiahe, a city in Gansu province where there were two days of protests last week, the 50-room Xilin Hotel was "completely occupied by police with guns and batons," said a man who answered the telephone and did not want to give his name. "No tourists are allowed here and we do not feel safe going outside," the man said. He said things had calmed down but vehicles had been patrolling the streets asking Tibetans who had participated in last week's demonstrations to turn themselves in. Residents in Ganzi county in Sichuan province said they saw troops, trucks and helicopters on patrol. The massive mobilization of riot police was helping authorities reassert control after the broadest, most sustained protests by Tibetans against Chinese rule in decades. Demonstrations had flared across Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces in support of protests that were started in Lhasa. Led by Buddhist monks, protests began peacefully early last week but erupted into rioting on March 14, drawing a harsh response from Chinese authorities. Numbers for injuries and death tolls have been varied and hard to confirm because China keeps a tight control over information. Tibetan exile groups say 99 people were killed — 80 in Lhasa and 19 in Gansu — while Beijing maintains that 16 died and more than 300 were injured in Lhasa. The official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday that police shot and wounded four rioters "in self defense" during violent protests on Sunday in Aba County in Sichuan. It is the first time the government has acknowledged shooting any protesters. Xinhua said protesters torched houses, burned down Aba's police station, destroyed vehicles, "lunged policemen with knives, and wrestled to seize police weapons." Authorities were forced to open fire into the crowd when the rioters did not respond to warning shots, Xinhua said. The injured fled and police were trying to find them, it said. The crackdown drew worldwide attention to China's human rights record, threatening to overshadow Beijing's attempts to project an image of unity and prosperity in the lead-up to the Aug. 8-24 Olympics. Pelosi, one of the fiercest Congressional critics of China, called on the international community to denounce Beijing's handling of the anti-government protests. "If freedom loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world," Pelosi said before a crowd of thousands of cheering Tibetans in Dharmsala, the seat of the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile. Pelosi, heading a Congressional delegation, was greeted warmly by the Dalai Lama, who draped a gold scarf around her neck. On Thursday, the White House said President Bush will still attend the Games but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged restraint when she spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. Xinhua said Yang blamed the Lhasa riots on the Dalai Lama's supporters. "They attempted to exert pressure on the Chinese government, disturb the 2008 Beijing Olympics and sabotage China's social stability and harmony," it cited Yang as saying. In Lhasa on Friday, residents said police were still patrolling the streets and people were free to go where they want as long as they had identity cards. An employee of the local Coca-Cola distributor said the business was still closed. "Nobody dares to go out," said the man who didn't give his name for fear of retribution. A woman who answered the telephone at the Religious Affairs Bureau said the Sera and Drepung monasteries, whose monks launched the initial protests, were still closed. The Jokhang temple, Tibet's most sacred shrine and the heart of Lhasa's old city, was also shuttered, she said. Late Thursday, state broadcaster China Central Television aired a 15-minute program showing how Tibetan rioters rampaged through Lhasa last week but none of the ensuing police crackdown. Video from security cameras showed burned shops, wounded Chinese and a knife-wielding Tibetan standing atop a police car. Buddhist monks were shown throwing sticks and other debris at riot police in a scuffle on March 10, in an attempt to portray the protests as having been started by monks. The photos of the 21 men posted on the Internet appeared to be taken from videos and cameras and were shown under the heading of "Lhasa Public Security Bureau's Wanted List of Criminal Suspects for Beating, Smashing, Looting and Burning." The images included a man with a mustache who has been shown on news programs slashing at another man with a foot-long blade. Another suspect wielded what appeared to be a long sword. Two had already been arrested and one turned himself in, Xinhua said. Authorities were offering rewards and guaranteed the anonymity of tipsters for the rest. The Lhasa Public Security Bureau refused to comment on the photos.

Protest at Olympic flame-lighting By STEPHEN WILSON and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS, Associated Press Writers Mon Mar 24, 6:45 PM ET ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece - Even before the Olympic flame was lit Monday, a protester of China's human rights policies disrupted the solemn ceremony, foreshadowing the prospect of demonstrations throughout the 85,000-mile torch-relay route right up to the Beijing Games themselves. Forecasts of clouds and rain had been considered the main threat to the pomp-filled torch-lighting. But in the end, while the sun sparked the flame to life, it was the protesters who turned the joyful bow to the Olympics' roots into a political statement about China's crackdown in Tibet and other rights issues. Three men advocating press freedom evaded massive security and ran onto the field at the ceremony in Ancient Olympia before they were seized by police. Minutes later, a Tibetan woman covered in fake blood briefly blocked the path of the torch relay. The incidents came after International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge told The Associated Press in an interview that he was engaged in "silent diplomacy" with the Chinese but wouldn't intervene in politics to try to change their policies. "We are discussing on a daily basis with Chinese authorities, including discussing these issues, while strictly respecting the sovereignty of China in its affairs," Rogge said. Protests are bound to follow the torch throughout its 136-day route across five continents and 20 countries. China pledged strict security measures to ensure its segment of the relay won't be marred by protests. Tibetan activists have already said they plan to demonstrate elsewhere on the route. "Later we will do protests in London and Paris," said Tenzin Dorjee, a member of Students for a Free Tibet who protested in Ancient Olympia. Protests of China's rule turned violent March 14 in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, sparking waves of unrest in surrounding provinces. China reported a death toll of 22 from the violence, but Tibet's exiled government says 80 Tibetans were killed. Nineteen died in subsequent violence in Gansu province, it said. A rising chorus of international criticism and floated calls for a boycott have unnerved the Chinese leadership, which has turned up efforts to put its own version of the unrest before the international public. China has blamed the riots on followers of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged China to start talks with him. Edward Friedman, a China specialist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said he expects Beijing to rally national pride by attacking its critics. Friedman said he expects China to put pressure on other countries to stay neutral and "to not do things to politicize the Olympics." Luciano Barra, deputy CEO of the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, recalled how the torch relay in Italy was dogged by protesters opposed to construction of a rail tunnel. Organizers diverted the route at one stage to avoid the demonstrators. "It makes me laugh compared to the current problem," Barra said. Another potential flashpoint is the route through Tibet. The flame is due to be carried to the summit of Mount Everest in May and pass through Lhasa in June. "The very idea that they will be able to parade the torch through Tibet after the crackdown is obscene given what's going on in Tibet," said Anne Holmes, acting director of the London-based Free Tibet campaign. Tibetan groups have also urged the IOC to keep the relay out of the Himalayan region. Rogge, speaking before the incidents, said there were no plans by Beijing organizers, known as BOCOG, to change the route, but he didn't rule it out. "The original torch relay route has been confirmed by BOCOG and Chinese authorities," Rogge said. "So far, as I speak now, the IOC is in agreement with that. No one can foresee the future." China hopes the Olympics will showcase its emergence from developing country into a world power. Apart from Tibet, China has come under international criticism for support of Sudan and its role in Darfur. Last month, Hollywood director Steven Spielberg withdrew as an artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies over the Darfur issue. The IOC has faced calls to take a hard line with China. But Rogge reiterated his long-standing position that the Olympic body is not a political organization and stressed he is involved in private dialogue with Chinese leaders. "The IOC is engaged in what I call a 'silent diplomacy' with Chinese authorities since Day One of the preparations of the games," Rogge said. At Monday's ceremony, one of the three protesting members of the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders ran behind BOCOG President Liu Qi as he was giving a speech. The protester unfurled a black banner showing the Olympic rings as handcuffs. China state TV cut away from the protest and showed a prerecorded scene. Chinese TV commentators did not mention the demonstration. The first torchbearer in the relay was Greece's Alexandros Nikolaidis. After the torch left the stadium, a Tibetan woman covered in red paint or dye lay in the road approaching the village of Olympia while other protesters chanted "Free Tibet" and "Shame on China." Japanese runner Haturi Yuuki came within a few feet of the protester, then stopped and ran in place while plainclothes police removed her. They also dragged off a man accompanying her who was waving a Tibetan flag. Police said the woman and the three members of Reporters Without Borders were being detained. One of the men arrested was Robert Menard, the group's general secretary. The three Frenchmen were charged with the misdemeanor count of offending national symbols. They were released pending trial in late May, and said they hoped to return to France on Tuesday. "We're asking the heads of government to boycott the opening ceremony," one of the three protesters, Vincent Brossel, told AP Television News. "We're not calling for a boycott of the games." Tsering Palden, president of the New York-based Tibetan Youth Congress, said Tibetan activist groups will urge Coca-Cola this week to pull its sponsorship of the Olympic Games. Coca-Cola Co. spokeswoman Kerry Kerr said the company remained committed to supporting the torch relay and "joins others in expressing deep concern for the situation on the ground in Tibet." China has promised a smooth run-up to the Summer Games and is hoping a successful games will bolster its international image. "The more determined the Dalai clique is to ruin the torch relay and the Olympic Games, the more hard and good work we need to do on the preparation and the implementation of all aspects," Yin Xunping, a Communist Party official, was quoted as saying by the Tibet Daily newspaper. Yin is party secretary of the Tibet Mountain Climbing Team, which is participating in the Mount Everest segment of the torch relay. In Nepal, police in the capital of Katmandu broke up at least two separate protests by Tibetan refugees and monks and arrested as many as 475 protesters, officials said. Chanting "China, stop killings in Tibet. U.N., we want justice," protesters were marching to U.N. headquarters in Katmandu when police stopped them about 300 feet away and snatched their banners. ___ Associated Press writers Audra Ang and Tini Tran in Beijing, Binaj Gurubacharya in Katmandu, Nepal, Nesha Starcevic in Frankfurt, Germany, Angela Doland in Paris, Tariq Panja in London, and AP Television News staff in Greece contributed to this report.

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