Tibet | The illusion of calm in Tibet

News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Sun Jul 13, 2008 1:23 PM EDT

Article Source: The Economist

world-news, china, freedom, tibet, dalai-lama, beijing-olympics, chinese-army-in-tibet, chinese-security, foreign-journalists-in-tibet, occupation-of-tibet, tibetian-monastries, tibetian-revolt

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VISITORS to Rongwo Monastery, a sprawling 700-year-old complex on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, might notice little untoward. There are no open signs of protest, of the sort that presaged vicious rioting in Tibet in March. But in one shrine a monk chants near a portrait of the Dalai Lama, prominently displayed despite the government's diatribes against the exiled spiritual leader. And police cars patrol the streets nearby: nervous, say residents, that protests could erupt anew.

Security around Rongwo, as it is known to Tibetans (its Chinese name, like that of the adjacent town, is Longwu), is far less visible than it was a few weeks ago when police surrounded the monastery, raided monks' quarters and took many away to jail. No police are to be seen inside the hillside monastery. But a monk says some 200 of his colleagues in the 500-strong community have been detained since Rongwo joined the wave of protests that swept the plateau. Many are still in custody, and, says the monk, it is "very tense". Near Rongwo is a much smaller monastery, which until recently was a popular destination for lovers of Tibetan religious artefacts, production of which creates hundreds of jobs in the area. It is now all but empty of visitors. A monk there says two of his colleagues have been seized by security officials.

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On July 1st and 2nd Chinese officials held talks in Beijing with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the second such meeting since the riots. This time the Tibetans were treated to a tour of Olympic facilities in Beijing. But the talks got nowhere. The Dalai Lama's team agreed to talk again in October but said that "in the absence of a serious and sincere commitment" on the Chinese side, it would "serve no purpose".

Despite China's promises of greater openness for the Olympics, foreign journalists still need special permission to visit Tibet. It is usually refused. About 50, none of them from The Economist, were invited to cover the torch parade in Lhasa, but were closely watched. Your correspondent reached Rongwo without hindrance, but was stopped twice at police checkpoints while leaving. Travellers say security is much tighter in Tibetan areas of Sichuan where several demonstrators were shot by security forces in March. In some monasteries police have seized computers and mobile telephones from monks to suppress news of the security operation.

Chinese officials want to win favour in the West by renewing talks with the Dalai Lama's aides. The Dalai Lama is a moderate: many Tibetans do not share his willingness to accept Chinese sovereignty in return for genuine autonomy.

Its is too calm up in the mountains...silience before a Storm..tibetian will not and should not leave any opportunity to show there protest in what ever way.....

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#1 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 1:27 PM EDT

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Tibet in Review	Lilithbytes	Tue Jul 15	4
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Tibet | The illusion of calm in Tibet

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