(Note: Also published on Reuters and The Chicago Sun-Times )
Story here. Emphasis mine.
It appears that the Communists may have already started a crackdown on Tibetan protestors against Beijing's evil empire and its illegal occupation of Tibet.
The protests, in their fifth day and led by monks supporting the area's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, threaten to cast a pall over the Chinese regime's image of a unified nation ahead of the 2008 Olympics.
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said that it had "received firsthand reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other indications of violence".
(...)
Tibetans are hoping to use the Olympics to draw attention to their plight. The region has been under occupation for 50 years and thousands of monks and nuns have been tortured to death in labour camps.
In recent years, Beijing has used more soft power in the form of investing in the region, vilifying the Dalai Lama, and infiltrating the clergy with Communist Party supporters.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet's Buddhists, urged the regime not to use violence to quell the protests, which he called "a manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment of the Tibetan people under the present governance".
He said in a statement: "I therefore appeal to the Chinese leadership to stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people".
Guess the "progressives", the "international community", the "United Nations" and the MSM will prefer to listen to the likes of Abu Mazen ("Mahmoud Abbas") of the mythical "Palestine" when he deceptively calls for "peace talks".
I believe we can trust the Dalai Lama when he says he wants a peaceful resolution to Beijing's illegal occupation of Tibet.
UPDATE: CCP claims Tibetan capital "secure"
Conflicting reports emerged about the violence in Lhasa on Friday. The Chinese authorities denied that they had fired on protesters there, but Tibetan leaders in India told news agencies on Saturday that they had confirmed that 30 Tibetans had died and that they had unconfirmed reports that put the number at more than 100.
Massacre by Communists?
Residents in Xiahe, reached by telephone, heard loud noises similar to gunshots or explosions. A waitress described the scene as “chaos” and said many injured people had been sent to a local hospital. Large numbers of military police and security officers fired tear gas while Tibetans hurled rocks, according to the Tibetans in India.
“Their slogans were, ‘The Dalai Lama must return to Tibet’ and ‘Tibetans need to have human rights in Tibet,’ ” said Jamyang, a Tibetan in Dharamsala, India, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile, who spoke to protesters.
China’s response to this week’s demonstrations is being watched carefully by the outside world. The European Union and the United States have both called on China to act with restraint. The White House called on China to “respect Tibetan culture” and issued a renewed call for dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.
....
