Are you or somebody you know in Tibet right now?
If so, what do you see around you?
Do you feel safe? Would you recommend that tourists avoid Tibet right now or do u think we as foreigners are important eye witnesses in situations like that?
Lhasa was reported to be relatively calm yesterday, with most residents ordered to stay inside their homes. Foreign tourists were evicted from the city or barred from entering for “safety reasons.”
From:
The Globe and Mail
Reply to this I have a european freind who has been in Lhasa during the whole episode, so reports of foreigners being evicted from the city are stretched at best.
He reported that the main street (Beijing Donglu) running through the old city was completlely burnt and looted by Tibetan mobs misdirecting their frustration at Chinese shopkeepers and businesses.
He also reckoned that Xinhua (the chinese State News Agency) was reporting closest to the truth from what he had seen.
Things are calmer now and getting slowly back to normal.
I dont think it will be dangerous for foreigners in Tibet right now, but you will probably have problems getting in there.
Reply to this Here is a news report from a journalist who was in Lhasa and witnessed the riots first hand:
Economist report
Probably the most balanced thing I have read or seen in the world media and matches closely the reports from personal contacts inside Lhasa.
In the days and weeks following the riots of 14th and 15th March there was lot of dubious reports out there, BBC World in particular often showed images of police beating up peaceful protesting tibetan monks whilst talk-over went on about "Chinese clampdowns in Tibet". Only the images they were showing were of Nepali police lathi charging refugees in Kathmandu.
Also a lot of the intial reports of 'hundreds" of Tibetans being killed by riot police in Lhasa quickly disappeared from the websites of BBC, CNN etc. after a few days, as presumably they could not substantiate them.
Reply to this I dont think anybody thinks the Tibetans are protesting peacefully Erika(or is it Robin). (I am not saying all of them are protesting with violence and vandalism but some are)
The media around the world certainly does not seem to be hiding that fact from us, just like it is not hiding the poor Human Rights standards of the Chinese authorities.
Mel
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