Reportage – 2008

I am helpless: Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama interacting with the media after the recent protests in Lhasa and other parts of Tibet. He termed the protests a "people's movement" expressing their resentment towards the repressive Chinese rule in Tibet. He said he supports protests as long as they are peaceful. [ click here for print size   3.1M ]

MCLEOD GANJ, India, 17 March 2008 — Expressing helplessness regarding the current situation in Tibet, the Dalai Lama said that Tibet is passing through a critical time, with lives of Tibetans being threatened, and called upon an investigation by the international community into the current crisis in Tibet.

"I am acting as a spokesman for the Tibetans in Tibet. I have no power to stop the demonstrations," he said while interacting with the media at his temple in Mcleod Ganj on Sunday.

He said that China is carrying out cultural genocide in Tibet — whether intentionally or unintentionally.

He does not support violence, but said that Tibetans are expressing their resentment towards the repressive Chinese policies in Tibet.

He urged the Chinese authorities to refrain from using force to control the unrest.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday asked China to "exercise restraint" in dealing with the protests.

Reiterating his support for the Beijing Olympics, the Dalai Lama said that Beijing has the right to host the Olympics, but Beijing should be reminded to be a good host.

With regard to the indifferent Indian reaction to the Tibetan situation, he said that India is being "over cautious".

Chinese officials said the riots had been "premeditated and masterminded by the Dalai Lama." Dismissing the allegations, the Dalai Lama said that the Chinese are only taking advantage of the protests to use him as a scapegoat, avoiding the real issues.

Xinhua News Agency reported that there was enough evidence to prove that the sabotage in Lhasa was organised by "the Dalai clique".

China's state-owned CCTV showed the caption "Dalai-backed violence scars Lhasa" under images of riots in Lhasa.

The demonstrations have spread to other parts of Tibet. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported protests in Labrang and Ngaba in Amdo, where over a dozen monks have been reportedly killed by Chinese forces. There were also reports of protests in Meldrogungkar and Phenpo Lhundup County, east of Lhasa. Students of North Western Nationality University in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, undertook a hunger strike on Monday against the violent crackdowns upon the Tibetan people.

The Tibetan government-in-exile put the death toll at around 100, and said that Lhasa is witnessing a martial-law-like situation even though the Chinese authorities have not declared martial law officially.

Monasteries have been completely sealed off by Peoples Armed Forces and remain under extremely strict surveillance. Monks are being followed even as they try to move within the compounds of the monastery.

Monks from Drepung monastery initially sparked the demonstrations on 10 March to mark the 49th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against the Chinese rule in Tibet.

On Friday, a scuffle between the monks from Ramoche monastery and the police, attracting crowds of ordinary people, turned into the largest demonstration in Lhasa in two decades.

The demonstrators set vehicles and Chinese-owned shops on fire and hurled rocks at the police.

The Chinese authorities have issued a surrender deadline to the protestors by Monday midnight, and promised leniency for those who surrender.

Tibetans in exile around the world are showing solidarity with the protests in Tibet. There were reports of Tibetans storming Chinese embassies and consulates in Delhi, New York, Paris, The Hague, Sydney and Geneva.