An article out from the Associated Press says that in a Tibetan area of western China Police fired on several hundreds of protesters—Buddhist monks and laypeople—who had marched on Thursday on local government offices. Eight people (at least) were killed.The protesters, according to the London-based Free Tibet Campaign and the International Campaign for Tibet, were demanding the release of two monks who were detained after 3,000 paramilitary troops searched their monastery and found photographs of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader.
The official Xinhua News Agency had no details on deaths or injuries but confirmed that “a riot” broke out near government offices in Donggu town in Garze, adding that one official was “attacked and seriously wounded,” and police were “forced to fire warning shots and put down the violence.”
The Associated Press also reports that, according to the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, based in India, two monks committed suicide last month in Sichuan's Aba County following government oppression.
This confirms that the protests are the longest and most sustained challenge to China's 57-year rule in Tibet … and that Tibet supporters from all over the world must keep a high level of awareness and alertness!
