1. Elite PLA army units enter
Lhasa
2. Hundreds of Tibetan nomads and
farmers protest in Luchu County
3. Latest Updates on Tibet
Demonstrations
4. Pope Benedict XVI appeals for dialogue
in Tibet
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1. Elite PLA army units enter
Lhasa
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Editor of Kanwa Defense Review
(http://www.kanwa.com/defr/)
19 March 2008
Elite ground force units of the
People’s Liberation Army were involved in the recent crackdown on the Tibetan
protesters in Lhasa. Substantial amount of images show that the new T90 APCs
and T92 wheeled armoured vehicles belonging to the elite ground force units
appeared on the streets of Lhasa in the same day of the crackdown. These
equipments have never been deployed in China’s armed police before.
To cover up the involvement of
regular armed forces in the crackdown, all of the above armoured vehicles are
seen using a piece of white cloth to cover the traditional red star mark of the
PLA Army, and the red stars painted on the steel helmets of the troops were
also erased. Only a very small number of PLA Army heavy group armies are armed
with T90 APCs, while the T92s are used by rapid reaction force units. The T92
appeared on the streets of Lhasa are equipped with 25mm guns and its export
variant is called WMZ551A. The same variant armoured vehicle exported to Sudan
is equipped with 30mm 2A72 artillery gun manufactured under technology transfer
from Russia. In addition, a large number of “Dong Feng” trucks, the mainstay
transport vehicles of the Chinese and Burmese armed forces, also made
appearance on the streets of Lhasa.
Judging from the military
equipments that appeared in Lhasa, the 149th Rapid Reaction Division of No.13
Group Army under Chengdu Military Region and the No.52 Mountain Infantry
Brigade under Xizang Military Region may have been involved in the crackdown
operations, both of which are the most crack combat units with most outstanding
rapid reaction capability in China’s Southwest region. No.52 Mountain Infantry
Brigade is the first combat unit in Tibet region to receive T92 wheeled
armoured vehicles. In the plateau operational exercises held around 2001, this
brigade was first seen armed with T92. The fact that the trump rapid reaction
combat units of Chengdu Military Region entered Lhasa at such a fast pace
deserves high attention. Moreover, the troops entered Lhasa with heavy
equipments. This author’s analysis is that the newly built Tibet railroad has
given China the capability to transport troops very rapidly.
In recent years, in order to
reinforce the combat capability of the PLA forces directly facing India,
Chengdu Military Region, Xizang Military Region and Xinjiang Military Region
are the key combat forces that have been given priority attention. The other
mountain infantry brigade under Xizang Military Region, No.53 Mountain Infantry
Brigade, has basically completed the process of equipment replacement. The
No.13 Group Army under Chengdu Miliary Region has also greatly reinforced the
build-up of its army aviation units, which are now equipped with S70 and
Mi17-V7 helicopters capable of flying over the Tibetan Plateau.
Other combat units of the PLA
specializing in plateau and mountain operations include Lanzhou Military Region
and Xinjiang Miliary Region. The 61st Rapid Reaction Division of No.21 Group
Army under Lanzhou Military Region and the No.6 Mechanized Infantry Division
and No.4 Motorized Infantry Division under Xinjiang Military Region both have
substantial experiences in plateau and mountain operational exercises.
Due to the increased presence of
the US military in Afghanistan, the above combat units of the PLA Army are
being equipped with new equipments at the fastest pace. Meanwhile, they are
also the mainstay forces to guard against the independence activities in
Xinjiang Autonomous Region.
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2. Hundreds of Tibetan nomads and
farmers protest in Luchu County
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(Fra Tibetan Centre for Human
Rights & Democracy)
http://www.tchrd.org/press/2008/pr20080319b.html
19 March 2008
At the time of filing this update,
just a moment ago at around 7:00pm (Beijing Standard Time) on 19 March 2008,
the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) received a confirmed
information from the site of the demonstration that, more than two hundreds
Tibetan nomads and farmers from Ponkor Village, Ma Ngoe Township, Luchu County
(Ch: Luqu Xian), Kanlho "TAP" Gansu Province, are staging a peaceful
demonstration at the Township Public Primary School compound.
Ponkor Village in Luchu County
which has around 250 families primarily made of farmers and nomads are staging
a peaceful demonstration at the Ma Ngoe Township Public Primary school compound
shouting slogans such as "Independence for Tibet", "Long Live
the Dalai Lama", Release the Panchen Lama" "Dalai Lama should
return to Tibet" and "Tibet belongs to Tibetans". The protesters
pulled down the Chinese national flag and hoisted the banned Tibetan national
flag in its place. The protesters continue with their demonstration until the
Chinese security forces came into the scene and demanded the removal of the
banned Tibetan national flag. The Tibetan protesters defied the order to remove
the flag for a while but eventually the Chinese security forces overpowered the
protestors. More than five truckloads of Chinese security forces were brought
into the scene to quell the demonstrators.
At the moment, the demonstration
is still going on. Apparently the Chinese security forces are looking for the
prime instigator of the protest and those who hoisted the banned Tibetan
national flag. The protesters are demanding that unless Chinese security forces
abandon the planned arrest of the Tibetans they will continue to stage the
protest. The present situation at Ma Ngoe Township is known to be very tense
and volatile. There is no reports of arrests or detention of Tibetans when the
last report came in. The Centre will continue to monitor the situation as and
when more information surface.
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3. Latest Updates on Tibet
Demonstrations
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(Fra eksilregeringens hjemmeside)
Wednesday, 19 March 2008, 3:10
p.m.
*Arbitrary arrests continue*
In Lhasa, the main entrance to all
residential complexes has been
blocked off by the Chinese
military. Households are raided every night and non-family members (even those
with proper identification) are being arbitrarily arrested on the grounds that
non-family members must have presumably taken part in recent protests.
According to BBC news, "A
Chinese source with links to the security forces told the BBC that 600 monks
had been flown overnight on military planes from Lhasa to Chengdu, the capital
of Sichuan. The report could not be independently verified."
With such large numbers of
Tibetans being arrested, and with some arrestees having to be flown outside of
Lhasa, it can be inferred that prisons in Lhasa are overpopulated from all the
recent arrests.
*First the Police and now the
Army*
After the recent Lhasa protests
grew in both size and intensity, a
massive number of People’s Armed
Police (PAP) continue to patrol the streets however more recently the People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) was brought in as additional reinforcement to suppress
the protests.
*Military presence increased in
Border area*
Around the border area of Tibet,
there has been a huge build up of Chinese military to prevent people from
secretly entering Tibet.
*18th March 2008*
*Four killed and fifteen arrested
in Karze County (Karze "Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture,"
Sichuan province)*
Four people were killed and
fifteen were injured in yesterday’s protest which was attended by around 400
people.
Among the four killed, two of the
names can be confirmed:
/1) Ngoga Chukhatsang (male) /
/2) Jamyang or Jamphel (monk, age
50)/
Among those arrested in
yesterday's protest, the following names can be confirmed:
/1) Tsetan Phunstok (male, former
prayer recitation leader of Karze monastery) /
/2) Chemi Gonpo (male) /
/3) Pema Dechen (she was severely
injured during yesterday’s protest) /
/4) Gonpo (male, injured during
protest) /
/5) Shao Mimi (female, around age
40, injured during during protest) /
/6) Tashi Palden (male) /
/7) Tsering Dorji (male) /
/
Loyang /
/9) Sangpo /
/10) A fourteen-year-old monk from
Tsetsung monastery./
During the protest held in Karze
County on 17th March the names of two monks( among others who were arrested) can
be confirmed. They are:
/1) Jampa Thupten (former head of
Karze Dhargye monastery) /
/2) Tenzin Namgyal (from Karze
Dhargye monastery)/
*17th March 2008*
*Many arrested at Toelung County
(Lhasa)*
Around 3pm local time, sixteen
monks from Dhingkha monastery who were dressed in plain clothes started a
protest on their way to Dechen town.
Police personnel from Dechen town
were not able to stop the determined monks from protesting and additional
police personnel were called in from the County. The local people joined the
protests after the County police tried to stop the protestors. People’s Armed
Police was called in later from Lhasa after the protest grew in size and
intensity. Around thirty of the protestors were arrested and treated very
aggressively.
Three of the names (laypeople) can
be confirmed as follows:
/1) Samdup (from Tashi Khangsar,
Dechen town, Toelung County, Lhasa). /
/2) Lobsang (from Tashi Khangsar,
Dechen town, Toelung County, Lhasa). /
/3) Tsering Dolkar (from Tashi
Khangsar, Dechen town, Toelung County, Lhasa)./
Also, among the thirty arrested we
can confirm that twelve of them were monks from Dhingkha monastery. Five names
can be confirmed as follows.
/1) Ngawang Ignyen (born in Dechen
town, Toelung County) /
/2) Jigme (born in Dechen town,
Toelung County) /
/3) Ngawang Tenphel, former name
Kalsang Dawa (born in Dechen town, Toelung County) /
/4) Karma Dawa (born in
Yangpachen, Damshung County, Lhasa)
/5) Ngawang Thakchoe
*Arrests in Damshung County
(Lhasa)*
Eight monks of Khangmar monastery
were arrested during a sizable peaceful demonstration. No further details.
*Around 2000 military personnel
brought into Gyalthang County (Dechen "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture"
Yunnan province)*
Fearing a ripple effect from the
recent Lhasa protests, around 2000 People’s Armed Police (PAP) personnel was
brought into Gyalthang County from Kunmin city (Dechen "Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture," Yunnan province). The PAP has been on 24-hour surveillance
and patrol.
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4. Pope Benedict XVI appeals for dialogue in Tibet
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The Associated Press
Published: March 19, 2008
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday appealed for dialogue
and tolerance between Chinese and Tibetans,
expressing "sadness and pain"
over the violence in Tibet.
During his weekly audience at the Vatican, the pope admonished that "with violence you don't solve problems
but only make them worse" and prayed for a peaceful resolution after last
week's protests. The unrest marked the biggest challenge in almost two decades
to Chinese rule.
"My heart ... feels sadness and pain for the suffering of so
many
people," Benedict told a crowd of faithful, praying that God will
"give everyone the courage to choose the path of dialogue and
tolerance."
It was the first time that Benedict addressed the unrest in Tibet
since violence erupted in the Chinese region last week.
Anti-government riots in the capital, Lhasa, resulted in a
crackdown
by Chinese authorities and the unrest spread into neighboring
provinces with large Tibetan populations.
Beijing has said rioters killed 16 people. The Dalai Lama's
government-in-exile in India says that 80 Tibetans were killed, a
claim that China denies.
Raising the issue of Tibet was a delicate step for Benedict, who
has
made the improvement of often-tense relations with China a priority
of
his papacy.
He is also keen on restoring diplomatic relations between the Vatican
and Beijing, which were broken off in 1951 after the communists
took
power in China.
Benedict met with the Dalai Lama in
as a private visit centering on religious topics. But no meeting
was
worked out when the Buddhist leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner
visited Italy in December, at a time when the Holy See was stepping
up
dialogue with Beijing.
Last year, Benedict sent a special letter to Catholics in China,
praising the underground church there, but also urging the faithful
to
reconcile with followers of the nation's official church.
Millions of Chinese belong to unofficial congregations that are
loyal
to the pope and sometimes risk harassment.
Catholic clergy in China have at times been jailed and worship is
allowed only in state-backed churches, which appoint their own
bishops
in defiance of the Vatican.
But last year, a cleric well-regarded by the Vatican was installed
as
bishop of Beijing by China's state-controlled Church, a move seen as
easing tensions between the Chinese government and the Holy See,
which
insists that the pope appoint bishops.