News Analysis: Tibet protests go global

Photo by Steve Taylor. (License: Creative Commons Attribution)

Photo by [Flickr User]. (License: Creative Commons Attribution)

As I was seeding articles this morning, I saw and seeded this: Amid crackdown, exiles raise 'Tibetan Olympic' torch.

The article discusses protests in Tokyo, Japan by Tibetan exiles, upset about crackdowns in Lhasa:

The torch relay is part of the "Tibetan Olympics" that refugees from the Chinese-ruled territory plan to hold in May in the Indian mountain town of Dharamshala, the home in exile of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Organisers said in a statement that they hoped to "highlight the paradox of the 2008 Beijing Olympics - the world's most respectful and peaceful sporting event in one of the most repressive and brutal countries."

The Tibetan torch has already travelled to Australia and Taiwan and will head next to Hawaii. It will cross the Americas, Europe and Africa before returning to Dharamshala.

This is the first time I've read about an organized, global protest by Tibetan exiles to the Chinese government, using the Tibetan Olympics as a counterpoint to the China Olympics. It's a powerful statement, and will be watched around the world.

MSNBC has this on their front page news: Tibet protests spread to Chinese provinces today:

Violence in Tibet spilled over into neighboring provinces Sunday where Tibetan protesters defied a Chinese government crackdown. The Dalai Lama warned Tibet faced "cultural genocide" and appealed to the world for help.

Protests against Chinese rule of Tibet were reported in neighboring Sichuan and Qinghai provinces and also in western Gansu province. All are home to sizable Tibetan populations.

"They've gone crazy," said a police officer in Sichuan's Aba county, her voice trembling over the phone as the main government building there came under siege.

Here's an article with video from CNN: Chinese police search door-to-door in Lhasa discussing the 10 to 100 Tibetans killed in riots in Lhasa.

Next I saw an article from the Syndey Morning Herald, entitled Pro-Tibet Protests continue in Australia. Pro-Tibetan protests have been noted in Syndey, Melbourne, Canberra.

In Melbourne, more than 100 protesters demonstrated outside the Chinese consulate, with some hurling eggs and water bottles at the mission in suburban Toorak.

What began as a peaceful affair turned rowdy as a handful of demonstrators repeatedly surged towards the consulate's gates, before being pushed back by federal and state police officers, including mounted police.

At one point, a car driven by an unidentified Chinese man was pelted with eggs and battered with flagpoles as it drove into the consulate compound.

A female protester who sneaked past the police line and followed the car inside was chased by police and frogmarched back outside before being cautioned.

The Melbourne demonstration follows protests in Sydney on Saturday which ended with clashes between police and activists.

A protest outside the Chinese embassy in Canberra, which had Australian Federal Police (AFP) vehicles stationed outside, was peaceful.

The Herald Sun (Australia) reports that China blocks YouTube over Tibet protests:

THE Chinese Government has blocked residents' access to YouTube after video reports of the protests in Tibet were posted on the website.

The Canadian Press reports: Police break up Tibetan protest in Nepal's capital, arresting at least 20:

Police have broken up a protest by 200 Tibetans in the Nepalese capital, beating them with bamboo batons and arresting at least 20 of them.

The Tibetans, holding banners reading "Free Tibet. Stop the killings in Tibet," were demonstrating Saturday in front of the United Nations' office in Kathmandu.

In London, Exiled Tibetans hold prayer vigil.

Tibetan exiles living in the UK have held a prayer vigil in north London amid growing concern about violence in their homeland.
About 100 people, including ex-political prisoners, attended to express anger about clashes between protestors and Chinese police in Tibet.

This is the most serious global protest over China's treatment of Tibet and Tibetal exiles since Tibet was annexed by China in 1959. It is still unfolding, so I would expect to see further articles over the next days/weeks.

Please let us know what is happening in your community in regards to this issue, and feel free to add other articles you have read about this global protest in the comments section below.

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	BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Protesters 'surrender in Tibet'	BBC News	Wed Mar 19	0
	Calls for Olympic boycott after Tibet brutality	Telegraph	Mon Mar 17	7
	Protests Expose Rifts Among Tibetans	Associated Press	Sun Mar 16	0
	Why is the world sitting ducks over Tibet?	harshpaul	Mon Mar 17	11