Monk Protests in Tibet Draw Chinese Security

With the Chinese government looking for good light for the coming Olympics (which will be held there), force has been less than it might have been (or so they say) against the Tibetan protesters who are looking to practice their religion freely and for a sovereign Tibet.

BEIJING — Chinese security forces were reportedly surrounding three monasteries outside the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Thursday after hundreds of monks had taken to the streets earlier this week in what are believed to be the largest Tibetan protests against Chinese rule in two decades.

They can't even show their own flag!

But a different protest was already under way in the heart of the city, outside the Jokhang, the most sacred temple in Tibet. There, about a dozen monks from the Sera monastery staged a pro-independence protest that included waving a Tibetan flag in front of a crowded square of onlookers. Police officers arrested the monks. Foreign tourists posted video on the Internet of officers shooing away people.

...

Mr. Barnett said the demonstrations were the largest in Lhasa since 1987 and 1988, when protests by monks from the Drepung and Sera monasteries sparked a bloody confrontation with Chinese security forces.

From The New York Times.

Others have followed there lead, and coverage on this has been blocked by Chinese Media.

[edit on 13/3/2008 by Nyorai]