Dalai Lama says Tibet 'hell on earth' under China
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:34 am
Paramilitary police and soldiers swarmed cities and villages in Tibet and restive western China on Tuesday, on the alert for possible unrest on the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama said Tibet had become "hell on earth" under Beijing's control.
China sought to head off trouble on the anniversary of the 1959 abortive Tibetan revolt against Beijing's rule and a peaceful commemoration last year that spiraled into violent demonstrations by Tibetans. Troops have been poured into Tibet and Tibetan communities in surrounding provinces to smother any protests.
On Tuesday in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa — where the uprisings of 1959 and 2008 started — was calm but tense, as was the rest of the region. Residents and businesses reported seeing increased patrols of armed police throughout the city. Tibetans and travelers in western China said police stepped up checks of identity cards.
"There are more paramilitary police in the streets. They're at bus stations, road intersections, even small alleys," said a staffer at the West Tour Go tourism agency in the capital, who declined to give his name for fear of drawing reprisals from the government, which has sought to hide the clampdown.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090310/ap_ ... hina_tibet
China sought to head off trouble on the anniversary of the 1959 abortive Tibetan revolt against Beijing's rule and a peaceful commemoration last year that spiraled into violent demonstrations by Tibetans. Troops have been poured into Tibet and Tibetan communities in surrounding provinces to smother any protests.
On Tuesday in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa — where the uprisings of 1959 and 2008 started — was calm but tense, as was the rest of the region. Residents and businesses reported seeing increased patrols of armed police throughout the city. Tibetans and travelers in western China said police stepped up checks of identity cards.
"There are more paramilitary police in the streets. They're at bus stations, road intersections, even small alleys," said a staffer at the West Tour Go tourism agency in the capital, who declined to give his name for fear of drawing reprisals from the government, which has sought to hide the clampdown.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090310/ap_ ... hina_tibet