Newsdesk: UPDATED – Tibetans in Karze (Ganzi)

The following quotations are garnered from recent reporting by RFA’s Mandarin and Cantonese services on the situation in Tibetan areas of China:

RFA Cantonese interviewed Ms Zhou (a Tibetan) Tuesday. During the interview, at about 2 pm local time, she said there were about 200 protesters including monks from monasteries in the area, protesting in the town. They were calling for Tibetan freedom and independence. Some local residents were joining the demonstrations. They clashed with large numbers of armed police on arriving at the county government buildings.

Ms. Zhou said the authorities had characterized the demonstrators as rioters, saying they had beaten an armed policeman to death. But she said the protesters had all behaved peacefully, and that no-one had been hurt until the marchers met up with the police.

From the beginning the police hesitated to beat the Tibetan protesters. But suddenly the violent clash broke out. Both sides have people injured. I don’t think or hear any armed police died. The authorities just announced the death of the police but nothing about the situation of the protesters. The action to detain protesters is intensifying.

Yin Xiaolin, Deputy director of tourist bureau of Seda county, Karze (in Chinese, Ganzi) prefecture told our reporter Ding Xiao on Monday,

They (Tibetan rioters) mainly target government departments. There is looting and vandalism in Seda county. There was only a mass confrontation with armed police last week. Only about a dozen people were injured and no one was killed. Armed police did not fire a single shot. They have been very restrained. They are only allowed to fend off attackers.

Yin denied reports of 20 casualties during the protests, but said about 20 people were arrested. “It’s for sure they will be prosecuted but authority may show some mercy when they prosecute them given the overall situation.” Yin also told Ding Xiao:

The government now has sent out work teams to 17 counties to persuade the nomads to return home. The work team faced some resistance in the beginning, but now after 4 days, it’s getting smoother. The purpose of sending work teams to local counties is to tell the Tibetans what the Party’s policy is and also have the Tibetans recognize reality.

A retired Tibetan official told Ding Xiao that two armed police were stabbed to death.

A local Tibetan official said, “armed police have been dispatched to all 18 counties in Ganzi” but he shied away from talking about his own opinion on the riots.

In a separate report, a Tibetan girl told reporter Qiao Long: “Police are rounding up Tibetans. It’s very dangerous now”. Asked how many Tibetans have been taken into custody, the Tibetan girl answered: “Many.”

Another Tibetan from Labrang county (in Chinese, Xiahe), Gansu province told Qiaolong: “It’s not that serious. It’s OK to travel” He also denied the report that Tibetan rioters went on streets looting and burning.

A Han Chinese from southern Gansu province said “The Tibetans are kind to me. We have been dealing with each other for more than 20 years.”

Sun Wenguang, retired professor of Shandong University said:

To crack down on the protests, especially to open fire, is a crime. How can you open fire on a mass protest; how can you drive armored vehicles into urban areas? What the authorities did has repressed and restricted people’s right to freedom.

Shanghai based writer Sha Yexin who is also a Muslim asserts that the authorities never put themselves in the shoes of minorities and never understand how they feel:

I am a Hui Muslim, a minority and I understand the situation of minorities. I am very upset after watching the bloodshed in Tibet. I wish all parties would do their best to reach harmony, to reduce bloodshed. This is my true intention. I also believe that the Dalai Lama has the same intention. I heard of him saying many times that he opposes violence. In the meantime, I wish the central government would begin a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

Beijing based young writer (Stainless Steel Mouse) Liu Di said:

First of all, I don’t think the Chinese government should block news about Tibet, because in the end, it doesn’t matter whether rumors spread out or people simply don’t believe what the government said, the government should bear the consequences. Right now, no discussion about Tibet is allowed on China’s Internet. They block news about Tibet and expel journalists from Tibet. I wonder should Beijing have a similar situation, are they going to kick out foreign journalists?

Beijing-based legal scholar Teng Biao agreed:

First of all, the authorities should let people know the truth, instead of blocking the news or kicking out journalists. What the authorities did is not proper and is not enough. It is one sided propaganda. Most importantly, the authorities should respect Tibetan culture and traditions and give Tibetans more autonomy. Their rights are guaranteed in China’s constitution to some extent, but the authorities did not implement the law accordingly.

More about Karze (Ganzi) from Wikipedia, who provided the above image.