An extremely rare (1) open display of defiance against Chinese oppression in Tibet took place last week (Wednesday 14 March) as several hundred Tibetans gathered in Lhasa to perform an outlawed Tibetan Buddhist ritual. Worshippers conducted incense-burning as an offering for the long-life of the Dalai Lama (2). According to a Radio Free Asia report, one source was quoted as saying that a 42 year old Tibetan woman was detained by Chinese security officials who had stepped in and blocked Tibetans from participating, whilst another source referred to a woman in her 60s being assaulted. Tibetan shops in the central area of Lhasa were reported to have been closed and a further source said that later in the day several hundred police had been deployed in various parts of Lhasa, making movement around the city difficult.

China's policy of control and repression of religion in Tibet, aimed at erasing Tibetan national and religious identity, has recently been intensified. On 12 December 2006 the official Lhasa Evening News published an announcement banning not only Party members, but all Tibetan government workers, retired staff and cadres and students from commemorating the important Gaden Ngachoe festival. Party officials have stated in the past that religious activities in Tibet are only banned for Party members (3).

Matt Whitticase of Free Tibet Campaign said:

"Given the climate of fear in Tibet, it is incredibly dangerous for Tibetans to express their loyalty openly to the Dalai Lama or to freely practise their religion in a meaningful way. That Tibetans are prepared to defy the Chinese Government so openly is an indication of the level of resentment and despair felt at China's ongoing assault on Tibetan Buddhism (4) and identity."

Notes to Editors:

(1) On 25 October 2006 Tibetan students protested in Lhasa after civil-service examinations resulted in 98 out of 100 government jobs going to ethnic Chinese. Tibetans fear their culture will soon be swamped by an influx of Chinese.

(2) On 24 June 2001 the Lhasa City Government posted notices over the city forbidding "any person, any group, or any organisation... to represent celebrating the Dalai's birthday, to pray to the Dalai for blessing... to offer incense to the Dalai".

(3) The Party bans ordinary Tibetans from displaying photos of the Dalai Lama and celebrating his birthday, but as it regards the Dalai Lama as a "splittist" and not a religious figure, it argues that the Dalai Lama's birthday is not a religious event.

(4) Tibetan monasteries are infiltrated with "Democratic Management Committees", Party organs that implement "Patriotic Reeducation" sessions, calling on monks and nuns to denounce the Dalai Lama; Party Secretary for the Tibet Autonomous Region, Zhang Qingli, was recently reported in Chinese state media referring to "a fight to the death" with the Dalai Lama and his supporters.