Turmoil in Lhasa occurred at a politically delicate time for China, which is facing increasing criticism over its human rights record as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in August and is seeking to appear harmonious to the outside world, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Beijing has kept a tight lid on dissent before the Olympics. But people with grievances against the governing Communist Party have tried to promote their causes as top officials may be wary of cracking down by using force.
Qin Gang, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, confirmed that protests had erupted in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, but declined to provide details.

“In the past couple of days, a few monks in Lhasa have made some disturbances in an effort to cause unrest,” Qin said at a news conference.

China plans to have the Olympic torch carried into Tibet over Mount Everest, a route that has brought protests from many Tibet advocacy groups. Fearing more demonstrations, officials said they would prohibit climbing on the north face of Everest until after the torch ceremony.

The defiance reported this week in Lhasa is highly unusual. Security is heavy there, and the penalty for protesting is harsh. News of the protests has been censored in the Chinese news media, and Beijing does not allow foreign journalists to travel to Lhasa without permission.

Tourists’ postings on the Internet suggest that protests emerged from three of the most famous monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism.

On Tuesday morning, the paper said, the Drepung monks apparently agreed to return to the monastery. But another protest was under way in the heart of the city, outside the Jokhang Temple, the most sacred temple in Tibet.

Radio Free Asia reported that two monks at Drepung had attempted suicide. The protests were timed to coincide with the 49th anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibet uprising that forced Dalai Lama to flee to India.

Appeal by NGO
India, China and Nepal were asked by international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) to release detained Tibetans protestors, who tried to observe the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Beijing’s rule in 1959.
“Instead of arresting peaceful protesters, why don’t these governments attempt to address their grievances?” Asked Sophie Richardson, HRW’s Asia Director. 

In India, about 100 Tibetan protesters, including women and nuns, were arrested on Thursday for defying the Centre’s ban on attempting to cross over to Tibet. About 100 monks were arrested in Nepal while about 300 were arrested in Beijing over the past one week.

Re-elected
President Hu Jintao is poised to be re-elected for a second term in a voting in the Parliament, with the spotlight on his likely future successor, as the name list for China’s top leadership posts was finalised on Friday, PTI reports from Beijing. 

Hu’s election as President is only a logical corollary to his appointment as the Communist Party of China (CPC) General Secretary at its 17th National Congress in October, which saw him cement his hold over the party, but with diminished influence.