Update from Lithang, Tibet
Yesterday, we wrote about how hundreds of Tibetans were protesting outside a police station in Lithang, trying to convince Chinese security forces to release a very brave Tibetan named Ronggay A’drak.
Now, according to Radio Free Asia, the Tibetans have temporarily withdrawn amid threats of violence from thousands of Chinese armed police who were trucked in to quell the situation:
Tibetan nomads protesting outside government offices in … Lithang have withdrawn after local Tibetan leaders begged them to leave or face a violent crackdown from the thousands of armed police stationed in the area
[...]
The protesters promised to withdraw their protest temporarily and watch. However they would observe how their demands were resolved, and if their demands were not fulfilled to their satisfaction, they would resume protests which could go on for a long time
So just to summarize:
1) One brave Tibetan peacefully calls for religious and political freedom;
2) Many Chinese police swarm to arrest him;
3) Hundreds of Tibetans peacefully call for his release;
4) Chinese authorities truck in thousands of armed police and threaten to “crush” the protesters;
5) The Tibetans show that they, not the Chinese authorities, are the responsible party by de-escalating the situation to prevent a bloodbath.
And this less than a year before the Beijing Olympics, when the Chinese government invites the whole world to celebrate “One World One Dream”?
Maybe it’s the saccharine hang-over from watching Beijing’s kitschy one-year Olympics countdown celebration, but this hypocrisy leaves me sick. The Chinese government cannot deserve the international “stamp of approval” from the Olympics until Tibet is free.
No Responsesto “Update from Lithang, Tibet”
Leave a Reply
on 
on 
on 
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
[...] Yesterday we wrote about the dangerous standoff between hundreds of Tibetans and thousands of Chinese armed police in Lithang. Below is an open letter from son and nephew of Rongye Adak, the brave man whose arrest first sparked the confrontation. Please spread it widely. [...]
[...] Meanwhile, the fate of brave protester Rongye Adak remains unknown, since his arrest on August 1 for peacefully exercising his right to free speech. We previously wrote about Rongye Adak’s case here, here, and here. The TCHRD remains “fearful that the authorities will use torture upon Ronggye A’drak during detention, as it is a regular feature in all Chinese administered prisons and detention centers. ” [...]
[...] We’re already seeing how mobile phones and digital cameras have allowed word to spread about the crisis in Lithang (where Runggye Adak’s inspiring act of free speech led to his arrest, demonstrations by hundreds of Tibetans, a violent crackdown by Chinese security forces, and an ongoing tense standoff). [...]