看看美国CNN是如何编辑拉萨图片的 比较澳洲媒体

加跟贴 发新贴

澳大利亚的媒体报道

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/tibet-burns-as-protests-defy-police/2008/03/14/1205472088728.html?page=2

Tibet burns as protests defy police

Email Printer friendly version Normal font Large font Martial law ... Tibetans throw stones at army vehicles on a street in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa after violent protests broke out yesterday.

Lindsay Beck and Chris Buckley

March 15, 2008

AT LEAST a dozen people were injured and shops and cars set alight during violent protests in Tibet's capital of Lhasa.

Hundreds of people had again taken to Lhasa's streets in defiance of Chinese authorities and despite a heavy police presence and reports of a lockdown of monasteries, sources said.

The US embassy said it had received reports of gunfire in Lhasa and advised its citizens to stay indoors.

"The police are everywhere," said one cafe owner in Lhasa. "There are big problems."

Chinese rule in remote, Buddhist Tibet has become a focus for critics in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, and marches around the world this week to mark the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against communist rule have spilled into Tibet itself.

A report from China's Xinhua news agency quoted witnesses saying that a number of shops were burnt and nearby businesses closed.

Yesterday 300 to 400 residents and monks demonstrated in Lhasa, a source quoted a witness as saying, capping a week of daily protests led by the Buddhist clergy, an echo of the anti-government protests that rocked neighbouring Burma last year.

"Some are angry and some are scared. The security forces are checking houses to see if any monks are hiding," said the source, who is in touch with Tibetan residents.

Hundreds of monks from the Labrang monastery in the north-western Chinese province of Gansu led a march through the town of Xiahe, the Free Tibet Campaign said, citing sources in Dharamsala, the Indian home to Tibet's government-in-exile.

More than 10 monks had been arrested and tanks were patrolling the square near Lhasa's Potala Palace, the person said, referring to the former winter residence of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. "It's very chaotic … all the police have come out," said one Lhasa resident. "The monks and nuns have been marching and protesting," the woman said, adding residents were afraid to go out.

"People have been burning cars and motorbikes and buses. There is smoke everywhere and they have been throwing rocks and breaking windows. We're scared," another resident said.

An American witness in Lhasa told BBC World he saw Chinese troops kicking and beating Tibetan protesters at the temple. He said he saw troop carriers arriving with soldiers in camouflage gear carrying guns.

A businesswoman surnamed Xia said: "It's martial law … There are People's Armed Police out, and they've been fighting the lamas."

At least a dozen people were injured and taken to hospital following the protests, a nurse at one hospital said. Another nurse from the People's Hospital said they could not confirm any details of injuries, saying they had been ordered by the Government not to say anything.

China's State Council Information Office declined to comment, referring only to earlier remarks by a Foreign Ministry spokesman who said the protesters were "seeking to spark social turmoil". This week's shows of defiance are precisely what the Chinese Government has been trying to avoid as it seeks to secure a stable environment for the Olympics, which open on August 8.

The region has been periodically restive since Chinese troops invaded in 1950. Nine years later the Dalai Lama staged a failed uprising against Chinese rule and fled into exile in India.

China imposed martial law in Tibet in 1989 to quell anti-Chinese demonstrations.

On Monday 500 monks from the Drepung monastery marched in Lhasa, followed by action from monks at the Lhasa-area Sera and Ganden monasteries. Security personnel fired tear gas on at least one demonstration, reports said.

The Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet said authorities had sealed off all three monasteries.

"There is an intensified atmosphere of fear and tension in Tibet's capital," the group said.

The US Government-funded Radio Free Asia said monks from Sera were on a hunger strike, demanding the withdrawal of Chinese paramilitary forces from the monastery compound and the release of monks detained earlier this week. Two monks from Drepung were in critical condition after attempting suicide by slitting their wrists, the radio station said.

The number of Tibetans detained could not be confirmed, but independence support groups said they expected government reprisals.

Nepal says it will block access to Mount Everest in early May to prevent pro-Tibetan protests while China takes the Olympic torch to the roof of the world.

Reuters

加跟贴 发新贴 〖一品 人文历史索引首页〗