Tibet's capital, Lhasa, was hit last month by Buddhist monks' protests against Chinese rule which gave way to rioting. Since then security forces have poured in to reimpose control there and in other restive Tibetan areas.
“hit”? Really? Because that’s the adjective I would use to describe a peaceful protest by Buddhist monks. It also makes it sound like the monks started the rioting. Great, so now I’m going to be paranoid when I see saffron colored robes coming my way on a dark street at night.
China accuses Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, of organizing the unrest. Tibet's Communist Party chief Zhang Qingli has called him a "jackal in Buddhist monk's robes."
It would seem the Chinese have been taste testing the leaded toys they’ve been shipping over here.
Chinese popular opinion backs official claims that followers of the Dalai Lama timed the unrest to disrupt the games. He has denied this and said he wants autonomy, not independence.
The next time you don’t like a story in the newspaper or on T.V., remember that in some countries that voice would be stifled…now find a way to send that reporter to that country. No, seriously, these are the “facts” as they have been reported in China. Lesson: Always try to take everything with a grain of salt, especially if there is more than one side.
China says 19 people died in the Lhasa unrest, mostly at the hands of Tibetan rioters. Representatives of the Dalai Lama say about 140 people died in broader unrest across Tibet and nearby areas, most of them Tibetans killed by Chinese security forces.
Ask yourself, which is more likely, Tibetan rioters killed 19 people in the Capitol city, or, in the burbs there were 140 people killed by security forces. Why were security forces in the suburbs, when there was rioting in the Capitol?? This doesn’t pass the sniff test.
The real point to this blog, is this:
A quick clarification for those of you who wish for a free Tibet, and are willing to riot to do so… DON’T DO IT!
If you are “Pro-Tibet” or “Pro-Dalai Lama”, please do the research necessary to discover that the Dalai Lama is a pacifist, and has been living in exile for decades in order to exist freely without conflict with China. Does he want his home back? Sure! Is he willing to hurt anyone or anything to reach that goal? No! He’s a vegetarian for goodness sake! Feel free to yell, scream, picket, or boycott, but please, have the respect to do no harm.
And for the record, I'm not backing the Tibetans because they wear robes...at least not that you can prove!
Italics added by me, quoting Chris Buckley and Thierry Leveque of Reuters: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080407/ts_nm/china_tibet_dc
1 comment:
Can't wait to see reports of Buddhist "Death Squads", or exiled Tibetan shock troops.
China has received a big healthy dose of "getting what it asked for". I mean we boycotted the '80 Moscow Summer gmaes, 'cause Jimmah "I HEART Hamas" Carter felt bad (rightly so) about the Rooksie invasion of Afghanistan.
Not saying we should completely boycott these games, but iI were President I'd give the pilots and groundcrew of Air Force one the two weeks of the gmaes off.
I don't think that the Dali Lama is the one behind all of the unrest. Someone close to him, may be, but the tibetans aren't the ones causing trouble. I think it was the buddhists who invented non-violence. Pretty sure Ghandi picked it up from them. I could be worng. The Tibetans are counting on the Chinese reaction and over-reaction to their non-violent protests.
This is not to say that supporters of the Tibetan cause may not be above tossing a few Molotov Cocktails...
We Americans have a problem. Normally, if this was a situation with any other country in the world - exept Tibet, we'd quietly go right in with some shipping containers full of rifles, ammunition and explosives, and a few Green Berets and SeALs would get the population stirred up nicely. Can't do that in Tibet - that's because they're a BUNCH OF PACIFISTS. Good point, Bullfrog...
Can we get a completely insensitive pool on as to when the first Buddhist Monk Self Immolation will be? I say roughly 30 days before the start of the Beijing Games. (Due to that last statement, I think I earned my way to another circle on the Wheel of life... no enlightenment this time).
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