• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Tibetan Exiles to Beijing: Violence 'Unsustainable'

January 30, 2012

Kurt Achin | New Delhi

Chinese official media are accusing elected Tibetan-exile and Western officials of distorting recent episodes of violence. But the India-hosted administration that claims to speak for all Tibetans says the protests may increase if Beijing uses bullets rather than dialogue to secure Tibetan areas under Beijing's control.

The official newspaper China Daily blames Tibetan exiles and unnamed Western governments for pursuing an “agenda against China” in their descriptions of recent unrest.

Tibetan-exile officials, hosted by India's northern city of Dharamsala, say security forces fatally shot at least six peaceful protesters in the Beijing-controlled area last week. Chinese officials admit to killing one protester, whom they described as a rioter.

Officials also described the recent protests as “mobs” that have used violence against Chinese police.

Spokeswoman and Cabinet Minister for the Tibetan administration in exile, Dekyi Chhoyang, dismisses suggestions they are colluding with Western governments and media to distort events.

“Absolutely not, absolutely not," she says. "The unrest that we are seeing now in the Tibetan region is really a reaction by the Tibetan people to the repressive policies of the Chinese government. And what we are saying to [China] is 'listen to the people.'”

At least 16 Tibetans, mainly Buddhist monks and nuns, have set themselves on fire to protest what they view as repressive policies in the region.

The Tibetan-exile administration says it never encourages fellow Tibetans under Chinese control to protest, but that it is sensitive to their concerns.

Cabinet Minister Chhoyang says there is a definite risk of escalation if the Chinese do not listen to Tibetan concerns, adding that many in the administration are concerned of a repeat of widespread that riots broke out in China's Tibetan autonomous region in 2008.

“It is bound to resurface ... it is only going to increase, I think," she says. "We are facing a younger generation who are more vocal, who are willing to make their grievances known.”

China occupied Tibet in 1950. Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, crossed into India in 1959 along with tens of thousands of supporters. Chhoyang says many of the current protesters have no personal memories of those historical episodes.

“A lot of the people who have protested are in their 40s and younger, Tibetans who were born and grew up after China occupied the Tibetan plateau," she says. "So, they have never known an independent Tibet. They grew up under the Chinese regime, so there is something seriously wrong that we need to listen to.”

No foreigners are being allowed into Tibetan areas under Chinese control. Tibet's exile Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay has called for the United Nations to send a fact-finding team to the region.