Tibet solidarity

The prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, has called upon supporters of Tibet around the world to express their solidarity with a vigil on Wednesday.

"Let's send a strong and loud message to the Chinese government, that the brutality and the killing of innocent Tibetans is not acceptable," Sangay said in a video message posted on the Internet. "I ask everyone to hold these vigils in peace and dignity and in accordance with each country's law."

Tensions rising

The situation in Tibet and the neighboring provinces is heating up. Foreign journalists are banned from reporting from the region and in recent weeks there have been repeated protests by Tibetans against the Chinese government.

According to support groups outside China, at least five protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces. The Chinese government puts the death toll at two killed, claiming they had attacked police and civilians.

The situation in the region is extremely tense, says Harrie Beaumont of the London-based organization Free Tibet.

"There have been strong protests, the whole region has been sealed off. There is growing Tibetan resistance, but at the same time the Chinese authorities are increasingly ruthless in suppressing discontent," Beaumont said.

Since March 2011, there has been a string of self-immolations in Tibet. According to Radio Free Asia, another three Tibetans set themselves on fire last Friday, raising the total number to 19 - with most cases ending fatally. In early January, three Tibetan monks have died through self-immolation.

No stability through violence

One of the main scenes of confrontation between Tibetans and the Chinese authorities is the Kirti monastery in the city of Ngaba in Sichuan province. In Ngaba alone, there have been 10 cases of self-immolation so far. In March 2011, the monastery, with around 2,000 monks, was sealed off and some 300 monks were said to have been deported. Some still have not returned. The Chinese government is talking about a "campaign of patriotic education" for the monks.

In his video message, Lobsang Sangay called upon the Chinese leadership to end it's crackdown on Tibetans.

"With violence and the killing of demonstrators, you will not be able to silence the justified protests of the Tibetans and you will not be able to achieve stability in the region. The only way so solve the problem and achieve lasting peace is to respect the rights of the Tibetan people and start a dialogue with the government-in-exile," Sangay said.

No New Year's celebrations

The German branch of the group, International Campaign for Tibet, said it would follow the call by Sangay. "Here in Berlin we plan a vigil to express our solidarity with the Tibetans – parallel to the other events that we and other groups around the world will hold on that day," said German ICT Director, Kai Müller.

February 22 is the Tibetan New Year. Lobsang Sangay has called on all Tibetans within China not to mark the day with the usual celebrations, but to only hold the traditional religious ceremonies.

The Chinese authorities, meanwhile, have tightened their control of the monasteries in Tibet. Beijing was quoted as saying that security personnel had been forced to step up their activities against "separatists" under the influence of the Dalai Llama.

An easing of tensions in Tibet or the neighboring regions is nowhere in sight. The month of March, in particular, is expected to be critical when the anniversary of the 1959 uprising is marked. March was also the month when the 2008 protests began.

Author: Christoph Ricking / ai
Editor: Gregg Benzow