China boosts security after self-immolations in Sichuan
China has boosted security deployment and restricted communication in
towns in the western Sichuan province after the tenth case of
self-immolation protest by Tibetans in recent weeks.
A monk in the predominantly-Tibetan town of Garze in Sichuan set himself
on fire outside a monastery on Tuesday, several overseas Tibetan groups
reported.
Most of the nine other self-immolation attempts occurred in the nearby
prefecture of Aba, home to the Tibetan Buddhist monastery of Kirti.
Among them was a nun, Tenzin Wangmo. At least five of them have died
because of their injuries, according to reports in the Chinese media.
Since the immolations, China has boosted deployment of military and
paramilitary forces in Aba and nearby towns, according to several
Tibetans from Sichuan who are now living in Beijing.
Speaking to The Hindu on condition of anonymity, they said
restrictions had been placed on telephone communication and access to
the Internet in Aba. Many residents in Aba, they said, had been unable
to make telephone calls in recent weeks.
They said security had been boosted in Aba and nearby towns, with
additional deployments of People's Armed Police Force (PAPF) battalions,
increased street-level security checks, more regular patrolling and
restrictions on people travelling in and out of the region.
“Illegal”
On Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said inciting people to such acts of violence was illegal.
“In the wake of the incidents, overseas Tibet independent forces and the
Dalai group did not criticise the cases,” she said at a briefing last
week. “On the contrary, they beautified, played up such issues to incite
more people to follow suit. Such splittist activities at the cost of
human lives is violence and terrorism in disguise.”
Thubten Samphel, a spokesperson for the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala, has
denied that the Tibetan religious leader had incited the incidents,
stressing that the Dalai Lama regarded self-immolation as a form of
violence. He said the monks were attempting to protest and bring
attention to China's religious policies, which many monks consider
restrictive. Monks are not allowed to worship the Dalai Lama in many
monasteries in China.
The Global Times, a newspaper run by the Communist Party of
China, said in an editorial the Dalai Lama “should take moral
responsibility” for the incidents, and blamed the unrest on a small
group of monks who were “nostalgic” about older Tibet.
“The Dalai Lama group still endeavours to prove the old system
integrating religion with politics can be continued in modern society,”
the newspaper said. “They deny the position of secular life in the
Tibetan region, and encourage monks to chase the supremacy of religion.”
Dibyesh Anand, a Tibet scholar at the University of Westminster in
London, said the incidents reflected “frustration with increased
securitisation of every aspect of religious and secular life in Tibetans
areas”, which was not limited to monks alone.
The incidents, he said, could have a bearing on the ongoing talks
between the Communist Party of China's United Front Work Department and
the Dalai Lama's representatives.
The two sides have, so far, held nine rounds of talks, most recently in
February 2010. While the Dalai Lama has called for greater autonomy in
religious, cultural and educational areas for Tibetans, China has
accused the Tibetan religious leader of continuing to support
“splittist” activities.
“These protests will make China nervous in making any concession for
that may be interpreted as the protests being effective,” said Mr.
Anand.
Fear of restrictions
Some Tibetans in China fear the incidents, while highlighting the
grievances of many, could ultimately end up being counterproductive by
resulting in increased security restrictions on Tibetans, as was the
case following riots in Lhasa in March 2008.
“After the riots, Tibetans could not travel easily,” said one Tibetan in
Beijing who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal from the
authorities.
“It was difficult to find work,” he said. “We could not even rent
apartments [in Beijing]. We do not want a return to that situation.”
Source: Thehindu
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