Angry Monks at Important Temple Protest in Tibet

The simmering political ­tensions in Tibet burst into the open on Thursday in one of Lhasa’s most important ­temples when a group of 30 Buddhist monks interrupted a government-­organised visit by international journalists to complain about freedom.

They shouted about the lack of freedom in the country and in support of the Dalai Lama. The monks were clearly agitated and several wept openly as they accused the Chinese authorities of lying to the visiting journalists and promised further demonstrations. “We want a free Tibet, we want a free Tibet,” shouted one of the young monks, who was crying at the time. The remarkable intrusion of the monks, who acknowledged that they were taking considerable personal risks, undermined a carefully choreographed visit that was designed to show that life was returning to normal in the Lhasa following a wave of protests in Tibetan areas of the city against the Chinese government over the last two weeks. A small group of journalists was allowed into the Tibetan capital for the first time since rioting on March 14. With the Olympic Games taking place in Beijing in August, the Chinese government has been under heavy pressure to allow journalists more freedom to operate. The Chinese authorities maintain that the riot and other anti-Chinese protests in recent weeks have been fomented by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. While a reporter was talking, the younger monks, mostly in their early twenties, pushed in front of the journalists and started to air their grievances. As well as calling for freedom from Chinese rule of Tibet, the monks complained that they had been locked in the temple since the March 14 riot. “We know we will probably be arrested but we have to keep fighting,” said one of the monks. The group of monks was soon surrounded by security guards and other officials who started shouting for the exchange to stop and tried to pull away some of the reporters. Several journalists were eventually dragged away from the site to ­prevent them from talking further with the monks. The monks also claimed that the heavy security presence around the temple had been withdrawn only for the media visit and said many of the people inside the inner sanctum of the temple were not genuine worshippers but had been brought in to the temple by officials to make it seem as if normal religious life had returned to the ­capital. On several other occasions on Thursday and on Wednesday, access to the area around the temple was completely blocked off by police. The city’s other main monasteries, Drepung, Sera and Ramoche, were also surrounded by police with the monks locked inside. Baima Chilin, vice-chairman of the Tibetan government, denied that the authorities had artificially created the impression that the temple was busy and said the monks would not be arrested for their actions. However, he revealed that of the 414 people arrested in Lhasa since the riot, some were monks. Caught off guard While China has faced international criticism for its tough response to the wave of protests and riots that have swept Tibetan areas over the last two weeks, in Lhasa the authorities are under attack for reacting too slowly. The Tibetan capital suffered the worst rioting it has seen in decades on March 14 and some of March 15 after four days of more peaceful protests that were led by monks. Yet with the official death count from the riot now 18, many residents believe the local authorities delayed far too long before stopping the violence. The sentiment is particularly strong among Han Chinese, who bore the brunt of the riot which was mostly conducted by Tibetans. “There were buildings all around the place on fire and people with knives,” said a Chinese resident of the old Tibetan quarter surnamed Yang who was forced out of his home. “Yet for hours, the only thing we saw was a few policemen.” Police officers injured in the riot said that in the early stages they only had modest equipment. The reason for the delay is still unclear. One theory holds that the region’s leading politicians were still in Beijing at the time attending the National People’s Congress, slowing decision-making. Others contend that officials were reluctant to send in heavily armed troops a few months before the Olympics. Still others suggest the police were too busy monitoring the city’s main monasteries to respond to the riot. Whatever the explanation, the slow response reinforces the impression that the authorities were caught off guard by the mood of the Tibetan population.