Tibet News

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There are now many reports of Tibetans being killed in the streets of Lhasa by security personnel. And many reports of Tibetans damaging Chinese stores. We now have photos of security vehicles overturned and in flames. And, a Tibetan in Lhasa told ICT staff that martial law has been imposed.

Reports of new developments are coming in every hour.

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Reports by doctors in Lhasa of dozens of wounded streaming into hospitals.
Riots escalate in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa as lay Tibetans join in the protests which began on March 10th, anniversary of the Tibetan uprising of 1959.

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Unconfirmed reports that soldiers are firing on Tibetans in the streets.

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Confirmed reports that the major monasteries around Lhasa have been sealed off.

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Three hundred monks from Drepung monastery and 100 nuns from Chutsang nunnery marched toward the center of Lhasa, stopped by armed police.  One was beaten to the ground.

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Unconfirmed reports of scores of Tibetans shot and killed including a 16 year-old girl killed and taken away by Tibetans on Beijing Middle Road.

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Arrest of around 500 students from Tibet University, according to CNN.

A Danish tourist just sent this email. . .

“Lhasa is in flames. There are tanks/armoured vehicles driving round in the streets - what's going on is crazy . . . . it looks like a war zone. Almost all Chinese shops on the main street up to the Dalai Lama's Winter Palace have been set on fire.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has issued a statement calling on the Chinese to show restraint and calling on Tibetans not to resort to violence.

This appears to be by far the largest uprising in Tibet since 1989, and if unconfirmed reports are true, there may be more Tibetan casualties in the streets of Lhasa than at any time since 1959.

We fear that as I write this, hundreds of Tibetans have been arrested and are being interrogated and tortured. We are still digesting the scope of this emergency and working the phones with governments, the media and others to bring pressure to bear on Beijing.

I want to let you know that the International Campaign for Tibet is currently working on many fronts to improve the situation in Tibet as only we can . . .

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Making preparations now to provide basic necessities for what is expected to be a large influx of new Tibetan refugees fleeing to Katmandu.



Around the world, Tibet supporters have held demonstrations of solidarity. Here, a Tibetan protestor is detained by police in New Delhi, India.

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Beefing up our on-the-ground field team inside Tibet to make sure that the facts of what is really happening are getting out, accurately and without bias, to world media as quickly as possible.

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Putting pressure on China to open Lhasa and other parts of Tibet to the media so the world can know what is really going on behind the veil of Chinese propaganda.

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Encouraging our friends in governments here in the U.S. and around the world to demand that the Chinese show restraint in their reaction to the protests.

Reports from travel forums say that 1/3 of Lhasa is basically on fire.  Protests are breaking out in other parts of Tibet and China.  I don't know if this will keep escalating and what the backlash will be for both the Tibetan people and travelers.  What's worse is that my Tibetan family is in Lhasa and I have no idea if they are okay or what is really going there.  I'd like to hope that they are fine, but I just don't know for sure.  This is the most intense uprising in many, many years and the Chinese government is really concerned about losing face, especially with the Olympics this summer.  They want to stop this rash of protests and they do not hesitate to use force.  But maybe this time will be different?  Maybe.