New danger for Tibetan monks: starvation in besieged monasteries

As the Chinese government continues its inhumane siege of major monasteries in and around Lhasa, a new danger is emerging for Tibetan monks: death by starvation.

Chinese military forces have surrounded the monasteries, cut off electricity, and are refusing to let Tibetans bring food and medicine to the monks.

The major monasteries of Sera, Drepung, and Ganden are cut off, and unconfirmed sources in Lhasa report near-starvation among the monks. Tibet.net, the website of the Tibetan government in exile, is reporting that at least one monk has starved to death at the smaller Ramoche Monastery in central Lhasa. 

Because the Chinese government is refusing independent access to Tibet by journalists, aid agencies, or diplomats, these reports are impossible to confirm.  They could be true, they could be exaggeration.  We have no way of knowing right now.  Of course, if the Chinese government had nothing to hide, it would allow access.   

If these reports are true, China’s inhumane collective punishment against Tibet’s monks cannot be allowed to stand.  This tactic is particularly barbaric, and yet historically appropriate for the Chinese Communist Party, which has a long history of massive collective punishment as a way of maintaining its control.

Does this sound like proper conduct for an Olympic host? Does this sound like proper conduct for any civilized country? Or does this sound like something out of the Middle Ages?  We cannot jump to conclusions until the reports are confirmed.  But they are troubling, to say the least.

(Click on this map for a larger image showing locations of the major monasteries in Lhasa)