China Sets Leniency Deadline, As 100 Reported Killed in Tibet

On the fifth day of protests in Tibet, things turned violent.

Buddhist monks and ethnic Tibetans clashed with Chinese security forces yesterday in Lhasa, sparking international protests and solidarity for the monks in around the world. This is exactly the kind of publicity that China does not want to encounter as the Olympic Games approach. China is now faced with demonstrations against its rule - the kind of which it hasn’t seen in 20 years. In nearby India and Nepal thousands of Buddhists took to the street to show support for those in Tibet.

China announced earlier today that any protester who turns himself in by midnight on Monday will be granted “leniency.”  The Chinese did not say how it would punish those that ignore this deadline or what a leniency punishment entails.

It has been difficult for international reporters to get precise information on the situation in Tibet.

According to the NY Times: “Roughly 1,000 special police officers were deployed in the town of Bamei, in Sichuan Province, the site of a temple sacred to Tibetans, witnesses said by telephone on Friday. Residents in Lhasa, reached by telephone, said the authorities had placed much of the city under a curfew by Friday night while military police officers were blocking many city streets. One resident reported seeing armored vehicles in the center of the city.The United States Embassy in Beijing warned American citizens on Friday not to travel to Lhasa. The embassy said it had received firsthand reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other indications of violence.”