Crackdowns on Tibetans continue

The further you go into the Tibetan parts of Sichuan, the more police you see. Tibetans complain that police are repeatedly checking IDs. At this Tibetan temple, a monk complains about having to go through patriotic reeducation since uprisings in the Spring. Another monk explains that they can’t display the Dalai Lama’s photo in the temple. There is no obvious peace presence at this monastery but there are plenty of police cars on the street outside. Some say protests continued from the spring into July here. this observer says the police crackdown has made it harder for his organization to monitor human rights in Tibet and other ethnic Tibetan parts of China. He says from what he has heard, some 6,500 Tibetans have been arrested or detained since the March protests, including 120 killed. He says his organization has also heard that patriotic reeducation has been rampant in the area and they’re trying to force patriotism among Tibetans for the Communist Party. Some Tibetans look at all of this as forced assimilation, and view that, along with the immigration of Han Chinese to the region as well as the government’s vilification of the Dalai Lama, as part of what led to the spring protests. Some Tibetans think differently though, and this Tibetan woman says she’s happy her daughter’s Chinese is strong and that her daughter could get a good education and economic opportunities. She says she’s even been cheering hard for China in the Olympics.