15 December 2008

Recent photos taken in Lhasa depict a city under military control, with snipers on roofs.

A Danish photographer who visited Lhasa in October took these photos.
She also reported:

'Soldiers in green camouflage uniforms are posted throughout the centre of

Lhasa and small groups of them frequently patrol the streets armed with

submachine guns. 

Soldiers go around Barkor [centre of Lhasa] anti-clockwise, against the Tibetan tradition of pilgrims circumambulating the Jokhang Temple clockwise. These soldiers are typically armed with submachine guns.

There are armed soldiers posted on every intersection in the Tibetan part of

Lhasa, including entrances to major alleyways. Temples and monasteries are

also guarded by soldiers. Open-air philosophy debates, a core component of Tibetan Buddhist training are now banned in Sera Monastery.

Armed soldiers are also posted on strategically located rooftops throughout

the city, watching the flow of pedestrians below.

From Lhasa to the Nepal border there are checkpoints in all passes.'