More Protests in Lhasa as Diplomats Depart

Details are emerging about fresh protests in Lhasa today. According to Radio Free Asia:

Witnesses in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, say fresh protests erupted there on Saturday afternoon despite a massive Chinese police and paramilitary presence there.

Witnesses told RFA’s Tibetan service that several hundred Tibetans rallied around 2 p.m. on March 29, beginning in the area near Center Beijing Road. Shops near the central post ofice on Lhasa Youth Road were closed, as security forces surrrounded the Tibetan residenitial areas in Barkhor and Kama Kunsang, Ramoche, and the Jokhang temple.

“People were running in every direction,” one witness said. “It was a huge protest and people were shouting.”

According to the Associated Press, the protests occurred “as diplomats wrapped up a visit organized by Beijing in an effort to blunt criticism of its crackdown on unrest in the region.”

The 15-member delegation of diplomats from the U.S., Japan, and European countries apparently left Lhasa about an hour before the protests erupted. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing issued a brief statement after the visit that shouldn’t surprise anyone: “The delegation was not permitted to move about independently in Lhasa, and was unable to hold unsupervised conversations with local residents.”

Sources report that protests also took place again at the Jokhang temple where just two days ago, courageous monks cried out “Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free!” disrupting a government-managed tour of press to Tibet.

As China tries to convince diplomats and the media that all is well in Tibet, Tibetans will continue to fight for their freedom. As another monk at Jokhang said to reporters last week, “Don’t believe them. They are tricking you. They are telling lies.”