Beijing is desperate to prevent protests by monks and nomads after violent unrest last year embarrassed the leadership just ahead of the Olympics in China.
Chinese authorities have imposed a security lockdown in Tibet as the Himalayan region this week marks the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile.
Beijing is desperate to prevent protests by monks and nomads after violent unrest last year embarrassed the leadership just ahead of the Olympics in China.
The Dalai Lama has called on his Buddhist followers to remain true to his non-violent cause, while also warning that worsening Chinese repression could provoke further confrontations. “The situation in Tibet is very tense and discontentment over Chinese rule is simmering,” said Tsering Shakya, a Tibetan exile and historian now working as a researcher with the University of British Columbia in Canada.
Last year’s anniversary saw unrest that not only angered Chinese leaders, who were building up to the August Olympics, but also made Tibet a top agenda item for world leaders dealing with Beijing.
Beijing has sent in extra forces in a bid to quell support for the Dalai Lama and ensure no repeat of last year’s violence in Tibet and neighbouring areas of western China with Tibetan populations.
Those areas cover roughly quarter of China’s landmass and have just six million
Tibetans.
Foreign minister Yang Jiechi on Saturday accused the Dalai Lama of seeking to carve out a “Greater Tibet” in those areas and warned other countries that friendly relations with Beijing hinged on refusing visits by the monk.
Tibet’s top official, Qiangba Puncog, conceded the anniversary period was always a sensitive time but expressed confidence that there would be no major protests.
Chinese authorities plan to hold the first annual “Serfs Emancipation Day” on March 28 to celebrate bringing “democratic reform” to Tibet.
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