Tibet Protests: On-The-Scene Reports

Photo: Haroldo Castro

Our photojournalist friend Haroldo again treats us to an English translation of a fascinating dispatch from Kathmandu for the Brazilian newsweekly Epoca. In covering the Tibet protests there, he discovered that one of the major movers is Ngulchu Tulku, a 29-year old recognized as a reincarnate lama. Now, this is not exactly headline news in the Tibetan Buddhist world, but who he is said to be a reincarnation of, that's story. A story that goes back to 1962 when the 10th Panchen Lama, second in stature only to the Dalai Lama, became so fed up with growing Communist Chinese oppression within Tibet that he directly presented Chairman Mao with a document detailing his grievances that has become known as the "70,000 Characters Petition". Mao apparently blew his stack and the situation became so heated that one of the Panchen Lama's tutors, Ngulchu Lobsang Choepel, stepped forward and falsely claimed that it was he who actually wrote the document. Soon thereafter he was murdered, almost certainly saving the Panchen Lama from public humiliation and execution. It is said that he was reborn as this Ngulchu Tulku, now fearlessly agitating again for Tibetan independence in the streets of Kathmandu. Sort of puts a new spin on the Patrick Henry line, "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country," doesn't it? Haroldo's article, entitled "Ngulchu Tulku, Born Again to Fight", with great accompanying photos, is well worth a full read.

Then, from elsewhere on the globe, we asked for and received a firsthand report, plus a couple pix, from our friend and longtime Tibet activist Sue, who we knew would be in the thick of the London protests (BBC coverage, with lots of video footage) surrounding the relay of the Olympics torch there yesterday. Take it away, Sue:

"I was just back from America so this morning was still very jet lagged as I stumbled onto the London streets not quite sure what time of day it was. The official Tibet protests had been negotiated with the police but stretched much further and there were many individuals who did their own thing along the route. One managed to get hold of the torch from a runner who had wavered about taking part and who spoke up for the demonstrators afterwards. Tibet dominated the protests. Our press is always very on message in that they do not wrap Tibet up as a Chinese domestic problem but talk about it as an issue of independence.

"Tibetans breaking out of their pen to protest on the actual route."

"The Olympic torch was surrounded by Chinese secret hoods in running gear who looked pretty scared whenever there was a changeover which is when the pro-Tibet supporters launched their protest. Surrounding the Chinese hoods was a semi-circle of British armed police – disgusting to see armed police on the streets of London for what is meant to be a peaceful event. Indeed the parade was really a farce – so much heavy policing. They clearly had orders not to be rough and several friends reported seeing some of the armed police pulling colleagues out of the melee when they were clearly getting too heavy. However, despite what they have said on the television, the police barely kept it together at times and did a great deal of pushing a shoving. They arrested over 30 protestors mostly young Tibetans. (The verdict, of course, from head honcho policemen was that the procession went well – big sighs of relief from the police but the broadcaster clearly looked rattled.)

"There were hundreds of Tibetans from all over Northern Europe and they have all gone to Paris on the Eurostar for the torch run there tomorrow. (The Olympic flame was going by Eurostar but plans had to be changed because of the Tibetan protests and it went by air.) I managed to get onto Waterloo Bridge and was very close to the torch as it passed by - the Bobbies (normal police) there were all very mellow and not heavy at all. We then ran up along the Strand to Fleet Street where it was bedlam. There wasn’t room for the outriders, and the police reinforcements were too far from the action. Tibet protesters surrounded the bus carrying the Chinese protectors who looked quite unsettled. The police manhandled us back onto the side of the road but they couldn’t stay to arrest us because they had to keep up with the torch. In the end the authorities decided to put the flame onto a bus – as they had at several stages along the route to stop it getting too heavy. It was all a bit of a farce. Send the torch onto the streets and surround it with Chinese goons and armed Brit police goons – what does that say about freedom? A farce!

"Young Tibetan arrested by police – they look very fearsome don’t they?"

"The great thing is that there were thousands of people supporting Tibet – Tibetans and non-Tibetans – and not all in the official holding pens!! There were a lot of Chinese students on the route who were spouting the received Chinese line that Tibet has been part of China for a thousand years. Poor deluded souls. They seemed quite ‘hurt’ that we were protesting against their country. Get used to it, is what I say, this is a free country (just!) and we can say what we like.

"So I think everyone was pleased except the Chinese – the police feel they contained the events that unfolded (and they would call it a success because only one protestor got hold of the torch), the Olympians – runners - feel they have given a platform for Tibet to have its say (several senior Olympians spoke up very publicly for our right to protest), the Prime Minister and the Minister for Sport did their loathsome weaseling – though they did not actually hold the torch - but could say they defended the protesters right of freedom of expression, and the Tibetan cause completely dominated events.

"So watch the news for what happens in Paris tomorrow – not to mention San Francisco.

"FREE TIBET"

Comments

[Kunzang]

Thanks for all the updates and links. I hope Penor Rinpoche is well.

Joshua Michael Schrei has recently made a worthwhile start at taking Parenti's article apart at: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/04/a-lie-repeated-the-far-left%E2%80%99s-flawed-history-of-tibet/

[Kunzang]

Sorry, didn't get that link right;don't know how to make a link here. So hope it takes tinyurl:

http://tinyurl.com/5kf44g

or to preview:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/5kf44g

[Konchog]

Hi Kunzang: The first link worked fine, and thanks for that. I just posted it at a relevant discussion over at E-Sangha.

BTW, you can (obviously) use HTML tags for linking, text modification, etc., in these comment boxes.

[Christian]

FOUR

That's the number of times the flame had to be extinguished by the police in Paris to save it from the crowd's fire... extinguishers. Actually, the police says that the flame went out more times but one time it was for technical reasons.

So let us start counting the number of times the flame is extinguished by the residents!

Blow, blow, blow!

[Curly]

It was a Black day for Gordon Brown and the UK govt.

Who authorised the use of Chinese security personnel in London?

[yeshe lhamo]

Konchog, I seem to get a Spanish language version of Harold Castro's blog when I click on your link provided...anybody else having that proble,? I'd really like to read it. can you write out the URL?

[Konchog]

Hi Yeshe -- Haroldo's more recent posts are in Portuguese; if you're getting those, just scroll down.