Buddhist Monks lead democracy protests in Tibet

Just as they did in Burma last fall, Buddhist monks are the engine driving the latest protests in Tibet (Wall Street Journal link);

A wave of antigovernment protests by Tibetans is spreading and, fueled by rapid communications among the monasteries that serve as centers of Tibetan cultural and spiritual life, appears unlikely to subside soon.

The tensions, which pose a challenge to China ahead of the Beijing Olympics, were on display in Xiahe, a small city wedged in a valley in the rugged Qilian mountains of northwestern China’s Gansu province. Saturday, hundreds of Tibetan protesters pelted government offices and shops in Xiahe with stones.

In a heavily Tibetan area of Sichuan province, in southwest China yesterday, Tibetans took to the streets in violent demonstrations and set fire to a police station. Residents there reported hearing gunfire.

Hundreds of Buddhist monks also marched in another Gansu city Saturday, shouting pro-independence slogans and carrying Tibetan flags, witnesses said.

Spanish Pundit quotes ABC News;

The three great monasteries — Sera, Drepung and Ganden — are all now surrounded by phalanxes of Chinese troops.

“The Sera monastery is surrounded by Chinese soldiers or police,” the same eyewitness told ABC News. “I went yesterday to an area nearby to meet a Tibetan friend, and I saw the monastery surrounded by them.”

The Washington Times reports that the uprising, as they often do in Asia, is spreading across the region;

Protests spread from Tibet into three neighboring provinces yesterday as Tibetans defied a Chinese government crackdown, while the Dalai Lama decried what he called the “cultural genocide” taking place in his homeland.

Meanwhile, activists rallied outside the Chinese Consulate in New York yesterday and scuffles broke out in front of China’s Paris embassy during one of several protests in Europe.

The Wall Street Journal also reports that protesters are enthusiastic;

Spirits were high among the demonstrators. “This is the first time in my life that I’ve been able to say what was in my heart, to say, ‘Free Tibet and long live the Dalai Lama,'” said a 37-year-old monk who was one of the organizers of Saturday’s march in Xiahe.

So here is my question; since there are probably at least a few hundred protesters in town ready to display their manufactured faux-outrage at the Bush Administration on Wednesday – why can’t they go about a half-mile from the White House (up Connecticut Ave) and protest REAL human rights violations in front of the PRC embassy? I mean they’ve got nothing to do anyway (besides spend their parent’s money and suck down nasty Starbuck’s coffee all day) – why can’t they take a few minutes off from the BDS and do something worthwhile.

All day Friday I listened to the Left praise the IVAW for their “bravery” and “courage” in speaking out against the Bush Administration. Folks, take a look at Tibet – THAT’S bravery and courage. It doesn’t take courage to speak out against a government that won’t do anything to you for speaking out.

The Left can’t leave their Bush Derangement Syndrome aside long enough to protest REAL oppression. And then they wonder why I make “snide” comments about their movement.

Category: Foreign Policy