Tibet riot - great INDEPENDENT accounts

I found a blogger visiting Lhasa and has been writing on what he/she saw there. We just need more INDEPENDENT accounts like these. Thank you Kadfly, I hope you don't mind I cross-posting your good works here.

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Reporting from the front lines of the revolution
Thursday, March 13, 2008

So we just got into Lhasa after a 36 hour train ride (we didn't get to spend another day in Xi'an like I had hoped). I had heard there had been protests recently but I was unaware the government was treating the situation as seriously as it is. Apparently, the issuance of Tibet travel permits were suspended today making us one of the last groups of tourists to enter the region and many sights, including the Everest Base Camp and many monasteries, have been closed to the public. Luckily, things seem to be getting better: a few sights reopened today and aside from a roadblock, the ride from the train station to our hostel was uneventful. I also suspect those involved in the tourist industry are exaggerating the situation so that they can justify higher prices for their services. We'll have to see.

Tibet and Lhasa itself, however, really is quite a magical place. It is incredibly desolate but there is something very peaceful about it as well. I'll upload some photos over the next few days so that you can see for yourself.

Lhasa Burning
Friday, March 14, 2008

The situation has gotten much worse. A quiet morning stroll down Beijing Street turned into running away with a crowd of Tibetans as an empty PLA convoy pulled through. Maybe 100 meters further there was a massive crowd of Tibetans surrounding a narrow alleyway. As it turned out, they were throwing stones and abuse at PLA soldiers who were blockading the passage to a monastery. After a minute or two, everyone rushed the PLA blockade and burst through. The soldiers left parts of their riot gear lying around and Tibetans started breaking them.

Up until this point the entire situation was almost jovial: there was no sign of danger whatsoever (unless you were a PLA soldier). Then things started getting out of control. Shops were taken apart, buses filled with passengers were attacked, motorcyclists were stoned. We fled into the relative safety of a nearby hotel as attention began to be drawn to us and from there we saw the street and nearby stores get ripped apart and more violence. Before being ushered into a safer part of the hotel away from the street we also saw a monk (or at least someone dressed like one) direct an attack on a store or restaurant with a small Chinese flag flying from it.

Currently there are massive fires on the street outside and basically every store has been gutted. At least two deaths have been confirmed. PLA troops have moved in with huge armoured transport trucks and put out some of the fires. A new fire, however, which is taller than any building around, has just been started recently (approximately 8:30pm). At around 2am things were very, very quiet. A few loud bangs but otherwise nothing.

More from Lhasa
Friday, March 14, 2008

Harder to get photos today as there is a very heavy police/army presence just outside our hotel.

Before I continue with some updates from today and videos from yesterday, I want to make one thing clear because all of the major news outlets are ignoring a very important fact. Yes, the Chinese government bears a huge amount of blame for this situation. But the protests yesterday were NOT peaceful. The original protests from the past few days may have been, but all of the eyewitnesses in this room agree the protesters yesterday went from attacking Chinese police to attacking innocent people very, very quickly. They appeared to target Muslim and Han Chinese individuals and businesses first but many Tibetans were also caught in the crossfire.

This video is an excellent example:
http://rapidshare.de/files/38832674/MVI_0483.AVI.html

This has been uploaded to YouTube:


Rapidshare is a bit tricky to use. What you have to do after clicking the link is scroll to the very bottom and press the Free button on the bottom right. Then you have to wait a certain amount of time (there will be a countdown mid-page) and then a password will appear - enter the password in the box and then you can download the video.

This motorcyclist, who I assume the protesters identified as Han Chinese, was simply riding up Beijing Street when the video took place. He was not army, not police, not doing anything other than riding his motorcycle.

See also:Western Tibetophilla = escaping disgust with modernity
Mainstream media bias against China is live and thriving: US tourist
'There're no innocent Chinese bystanders': pro-Tibet blogger
On Sinophobia
Biased media reports 'unite all Chinese'
Evidence of Western media bias
Tourist video of Lhasa riot shows mob violence
'Chinese authorities exercise great restraint': CTV
Accounts from Lhasa and beyond
'Howling' mob attack anything, anyone looks Chinese: Western tourists
Hong Kong reporters, foreigners expelled from Lhasa (footage)
Tibet riot - BBC
Tibet riot photos taken by eyewitnesses
'They don't even let go women and children'
Tibet riot - great INDEPENDENT accounts
Rioter to Dalai Lama: 'Please don't ask us to stop'
Han Chinese not humans?
Latest AP photos of the Lhasa riot
Beijing, Dharamasala both use heavy propaganda machines
Tibet riot - more eyewitness accounts
'They stopped throwing stones at the boy when I rushed forward'
Tibet riot - the other side of the story