Repression in Tibet
The violence that erupted among Tibetan protestors in the middle of March was deplorable, but it is the natural outgrowth of China’s policy of repressing Tibetan religion and culture. The government’s response has made the situation even worse: government forces have fired into crowds, killing at least 18 people (the government claim) and perhaps as many as 80 (Tibetan exiles’ claims). They have arrested large numbers of people on specious charges, beaten others, and sealed off the entire area with military troops, allowing no outsiders into the region. The government has also attempted to portray the Dalai Lama as the instigator of the violence—a claim that is not only false, but unlikely to win over Tibetans. As the Dalai Lama said in a statement to the Chinese people, “I have no desire to seek Tibet’s separation. Nor do I have any wish to drive a wedge between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples. On the contrary my commitment has always been to find a genuine solution to the problem of Tibet that ensures the long-term interests of both Chinese and Tibetans. My primary concern, as I have repeated time and again, is to ensure the survival of the Tibetan people’s distinctive culture, language, and identity.”
If China is to live up to the image it hopes to project to the world during the Olympics, it needs to protect the human rights of all its people. Key steps include:
- Opening the Tibetan region to outside human rights monitors
- Accounting for its own actions and allowing for reporting on the actions of violent protestors
- Accounting for and releasing the prisoners it has taken in response to the protests
- Respecting the free practice of Tibetan religion and culture
Cultural Survival encourages people to take action by writing a letter of concern to Abassador Zhou Wenzhong, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, 2133 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20007.