Dharamshala: The Tibetan government in exile says that over 220 Tibetans killed, 1,294 injured and 290 sentenced, more than 5,600 were arrested or detained and over 1,000 disappeared after the Chinese armed military deadly cracked down in all parts of Tibet. Now, a group of respected Chinese lawyers have publicized research that demonstrates that the Tibetan riots and protests of last March steamed from legitimate grievances caused by failed government policies in Tibet--- not His Holiness the Dalia Lama. New roads, a glistening railway, schools, and hospitals, despite these developments the report concludes “Economic modernization left Tibetans feeling increasingly disenfranchised over the decades.” The lawyers found that it was nearly impossible for Tibetans to find work in Tibet while Han Chinese easily scoop up well paying jobs in the tourist industry. When the peaceful protests in the Tibetan capital Lhasa turned violent on 14 March of 2008 much of the anger was focused on Chinese owned businesses that were vandalized.
Chinese lawyer’s due-diligence states “An important perspective for interpreting the 3/14 incident is that it was reaction made under stress by a society and people to the various changes that have been taking place in their lives over the past few decades,” the report said. “The notion that appears impossible to understand is the implication that reasonable demands were being vented, and this is precisely what we need to understand and reflect upon.”
The report also said: “When the land you’re accustomed to living in, and the land of the culture you identify with, when the lifestyle and religiosity is suddenly changed into a ‘modern city’ that you no longer recognize; when you can no longer find work in your own land, and feel the unfairness of lack of opportunity, and when you realize that your core value systems are under attack, then the Tibetan people’s panic and sense of crisis is not difficult to understand.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has evoked a ‘sense of crisis’ when describing conditions inside Tibet he has said, “Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place,” he has also said present day Tibet is like “a hell on earth.”
Chinese have claimed that His Holiness is an activist who only dons monk’s robes as a political stunt to garner support, and for that reason he is viewed as the central orchestrator of dissent inside of Tibet. The report, penned by Chinese lawyers, focuses on failed Chinese policies inside Tibet and forces China to assume responsibility for the violence that occurred amongst the citizens of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
