China boosts police presence in Tibet

Financial Times
Published: February 25 2009
By Geoff Dyer in Beijing

China has introduced a heavy police presence into Tibetan regions of the country ahead of the start of Tibetan new year celebrations on Wednesday, the first in a number of potential flashpoints over the next month.
The 15-day festival, called Losar, is usually one of most festive times of the year for Tibetans, but this year there has been an underground campaign to boycott the celebrations to mourn those killed during the wave of protests in the region last year.

Chinese officials have been worried about the potential for unrest around other sensitive dates, including the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising against the Beijing government that led the Dalai Lama to flee into exile on March 10. The government has named March 28 as ‘Serf Emancipation Day’, a new holiday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the official dissolution of the Tibetan government that was led by the Dalai Lama.
Analysts say that the pre-emptive security clampdown indicated the government lacks confidence it can predict potential protests and prevent them from taking place.
The Chinese authorities say they are responding to the increased risk of crime in the region. There were reports on Wednesday that explosives had been found under a bridge in Tibet.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Dalai Lama said Tibetans should not respond to the “provocation” of the security build-up.
The campaign to boycott the traditional new year, which Tibetan activists have described as an act of civil disobedience, has been building for several months. The authorities have countered the campaign with aggressive propaganda efforts, including a four-hour television spectacle on Tibet TV on Tuesday evening with 800 performers. The Xinhua news agency published a report yesterday entitled: “Jubilant Tibetans embrace coming new year”.
Tibetan monks in Taipei, Taiwan, boycotted the start of the Losar festival in protest against Chinese rule
Diplomats and reporters who have recently visited Tibetan areas say there is some support for the boycott, although there is also plenty of opposition, including from shops and other service businesses for whom the holiday season is peak business.
Last year, the region witnessed the biggest outbreak of anti-Beijing protests in several decades, with unrest spreading to more than 50 towns in Tibet and Tibetan populated districts in the neighbouring provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai. The unrest culminated in a riot in Lhasa on March 14 when Han Chinese residents were targeted.
According to the Chinese government, 19 people including a policeman died in the riot. Tibetan exiles and human rights groups say the overall death toll during the protests was much larger.
The security build-up has been particularly intense in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. According to Human Rights Watch, the authorities have set up a detention centre near the regional capital where several thousand people have been held for short periods of time.
For the last three weeks, there have been reports of a heavy military police presence in Xiahe, the Gansu province town which was the site of a large protest last March, but residents contacted by telephone yesterday said the town was not closed off to foreign visitors. There have also been reports of large-scale security measures in Aba and Ganzi prefectures in Sichuan.
According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, a Dharamsala-based group, there was a two-day protest starting February 14 in Lithang county after a monk began chanting “No Losar”.