China: Lhasa Torch Relay Tarnishes Olympic Movement

The protests, which started with peaceful demonstrations by Buddhist monks on March 10, became violent on March 14 after police began arresting monks and other Tibetan protesters. Some Tibetans then attacked Han Chinese shops and property, and police did nothing to stop this violence. The government sealed off Lhasa and suppressed any further unrest with a combination of mass troop deployment, arrests and detention of several hundred and possibly thousands of people, and extensive police surveillance of Tibetans in order to prevent further demonstrations. On March 18, the central government in Beijing claimed that normalcy had returned to Lhasa and that the city would be reopened to foreign visitors soon.  
 
The situation in Lhasa is anything but normal, said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. The authorities continue to fear that Tibetans may try to stage further protests, and Tibetans continue to fear that they can be arrested at any time for any reason. Using Tibet for a propaganda opportunity such as the Olympic torch relay while sealing it to independent investigators is both unconscionable and reckless.  
 
In the wake of the March protests, the Chinese government has denied repeated demands for an independent international investigation into the protests and their aftermath. In response to international condemnation of the March violence, the Chinese government permitted 15 diplomats to visit Lhasa in late March, but seriously restricted their ability to speak freely to Tibetans, visit those in detention, or otherwise investigate aspects of the protests

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