April 4, 2008
by twitterpaters
by twit
On April 4, 2008, the Associated Press describes reports of recent protests, including that “police opened fire on hundreds of Buddhist monks and lay people who had marched on local government offices.” The Chinese media agency Xinhua reports:
… no mention of deaths or injuries among protesters, but said a “riot” had flared up Thursday night outside government offices in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture high in the mountains in Sichuan province along the border with Tibet.
further details are offered by the Associated Press:
… the chief monk, Lobsang Jamyang, refused to allow a government team to enter on Wednesday, but they returned Thursday with a force of about 3,000 paramilitary troops. The two monks, Geshi Sonam Tenzing and Tsultrim Phuntsog, were detained after photos of the Dalai Lama were found among their belongings.
Soon afterward, the monastery’s 370 monks marched on local government headquarters to demand their release, joined by about 400 lay people, Whitticase said. The group left after being told the two monks would be freed at 8 p.m., but returned after officials reneged. Along the way, they were confronted by troops at a road block, who opened fire on the crowd, Whitticase said.
The BBC has more:
Tibetan exile groups say Chinese security forces killed dozens of protesters. Beijing says about 19 people were killed in rioting.
… The latest Xinhua report states that a government official was “attacked and seriously wounded” in the Donggu township at about 2000 (1200 GMT) on Thursday.
“Local officials exercised restraint during the riot and repeatedly told the rioters to abide by the law,” Xinhua quoted an official with the prefectural government as saying.
“Police were forced to fire warning shots and put down the violence,” the official added.
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