The Great Wall

James Miles of The Economist magazine, who was the only Western journalist in Lhasa, Tibet on March 14, 2008, filed the following dispatch:

Your correspondent “saw crowds hurling chunks of concrete at numerous small shops run by ethnic Chinese lining the streets of city’s old Tibetan quarter. They threw them too at those Chinese caught on the streets—a boy on a bicycle, taxis (whose drivers are often Chinese) and even a bus.” “The mobs, ranging from small groups of youths (some armed with traditional Tibetan swords) to crowds of many dozens, including women and children, rampaged through the narrow alleys of the Tibetan quarter. They battered the shutters of shops, broke in and seized whatever they could, from hunks of meat to gas canisters and clothing”. “Within a couple of hours, fires were blazing in the streets across much of the city. Some buildings caught fire too.”1.

      Indeed, this was a criminal act of violence, a riot, and terrorism of the highest order. Unfortunately, the entire Western media did not see it that way, as most of them reported this incident as a protest against the ethnic Chinese or Chinese rule in Tibet. Case in point is the New York Times correspondent, Mr. Jim Yardley in Beijing, who reported under the headline: “Protesters clash with police in Tibetan capital”. Mr. Yardley described the riot as “violent protests” or “violent demonstration”, where the Buddhist monks and other ethnic Tibetans clashed with Chinese security forces. In no way did Mr. Yardley mention that those “protesters” were killing people and practicing terrorism.2.    

     What was even more outrageous was the claim that this was a peaceful protest, where people died with the implication that the Chinese police forces was killing the “protesters”, and this impression was conveyed to every corner of the world. Consequently, accusation, distorted editorial comments with great condemnation of China appeared in many Western newspapers. China, a victim of terrorism, once again became a pariah nation in the eyes of many people in the Western world. Major media organizations such as CNN, Washington Post, and BBC, not only presented bias news reports, but intentionally altered photos or used pictures from other countries outside China to illustrate Chinese police brutality. In the case of CNN, a portion of photo was cut to avoid the showing of a mob scene or riot, and in the case of Washington Post, the caption of the picture, in which armed policemen were beating up some Tibetan protesters read as follows: “China’s government is cracking down Tibetan protestors who took the streets to protest Chinese rule of the province”. It turned out that was the action of the Nepal police handling the Tibetan protestors in Nepal if one examined the photo closely. 3. 4.

    This contrasted sharply with the report by the Chinese media, as the “Chinese newspapers have been filled with accounts of innocent ethnic Chinese killed in Lhasa by rampaging Tibetans, stories such as the burning to death of five young girls and a baby in a garage, and of a Chinese woman who had an ear cut off by protesters.”5.

    Consequently, the Western media exposed itself to hundred of millions of Chinese as a bias, uninformed, arrogant and untruthful institution with unethical and double standards. It would resort to any devious mean to demonize China. But what was even more troubling to many Chinese was the violence exhibited by the rioters against their own compatriots, as in recent years, the lives of average Tibetans had vastly improved. The Dalai Lama’s Tibet was actually a land of economic exploitation and serfdom, where 90 percent of the population was either serfs or slaves. “In the Dalai Lama’s Tibet, torture and mutilation—including eye gouging, the pulling out of tongues, hamstringing, and amputation---were favored punishments inflicted upon runaway serfs and thieves.”12. In modern Tibet, close to a hundred percent of school-age student are enrolled in school, and illiteracy rate is less than 10 percent. Since 1978, China has spent billions to restore all the monasteries in Tibet. Railway, highway, and other infrastructures were built in Tibet. Poverty and illiteracy were the things of the past. 6. This is rather puzzling to many Chinese that an organized riot of such a scale would take place in present Tibet.

    Fittingly, Mr. Richard Bennett, a well-known intelligence and security consultant, in an article which appeared on Asia Times in March 25, 2008, gave us the insight on the involvement of CIA in this horrific riot.

     According to Mr. Bennett, the respect columnist and former senior Indian Intelligence officer, Mr. B Raman, commented after the Tibetan riot that “on the basis of available evidence, it was possible to assess with a reasonable measure of conviction” that the riot “had been pre-planned and well orchestrated”.7. As a result, Mr. Bennett considered that “it would seem somewhat unlikely that any revolt could have been planned or occurred without the prior knowledge, and even perhaps the agreement, of National Clandestine Service at CIA headquarters in Langley.”

    It is a well-known fact that CIA has participated in the overthrow of Chinese control in Tibet since 1951, as Dalai Lama’s two older brothers; Thubten Jigme Norbu and Gyalo Thondup were the key Tibetan CIA agents.8. “The CIA conducted a large scale covert action campaign against the communist Chinese in Tibet, starting in 1956. This led to a disastrous bloody uprising in 1959, leaving tens of thousands of Tibetans dead, while the Dalai Lama and about 100,000 followers were forced to flee across the treacherous Himalayan passes to India and Nepal.”7.

    Thereafter, the CIA trained guerrillas, supported by CIA planes and mercenaries, carried out raids against China in Tibet from bases in Nepal.  In the 1960s, the CIA and the Indian intelligence services cooperated in the training of Tibetan agents and Special Forces and this program was carrying out well into the 1970s. This backing of the Tibetan guerrillas officially ended when Nixon went to China, but “it is still widely rumored that the CIA were involved, if only by proxy, in another failed revolt in October 1987.”7. With the impending Olympics, “the timing for another serious attempt to destabilize Chinese rule in Tibet would appear to be right for the CIA and Langley will undoubtedly keep all its options open,” wrote Mr. Bennett.

    Mr. Bennett also revealed that “large quantities of former Eastern bloc small arms and explosives have been reportedly smuggled into Tibet over the past 30 years, but these are likely to remain safely hidden until the right opportunity presents itself.”7.

    In many quarters in Washington, China is viewed as a strategic competitor, or “a major threat, both economic and military, not just in Asia, but in Africa and Latin America as well”.7. As the host of 2008 Olympics, China is faced with problem of Uighur Muslims, and the United States has also “considered that intensifying the anti-Chinese uprising in Sinkiang [Xinjiang] would distract China from it confrontation with the United States and Taiwan and could serve as a useful bargaining chip in future negotiation.”9.

    It is against this background that a conference of two hundreds Indians and Tibetans were held in New Delhi in June 2007 to plan a mass protest in Tibet, as “the Olympics could provide the one-chance for Tibetans to come out and protest ‘like one mighty force’”.10. “The strategy calls for world wide protests, a march of exiles from India to Tibet and for protests with Tibet.”10.   Concurrent with the conference being held, the U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford was on a two days visit with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, and this followed with the visit of U.S. Undersecretary of State Paula Dobrinsky in November, 2007. Dobrinsky, a member of neocon in Washington, has been involved in the color revolutions in Eastern Europe. Thus, the plan was mapped out in January 2008, and it called on “exile Tibetans to take a protest march to Tibet ahead of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.”10. The declaration calls for Tibetan independence, and “bring about another uprising that will shake China’s control in Tibet and mark the beginning of the end of China’s occupation.”10.

    Accordingly, forty grassroots activists were given training from February 15-17, 2008 at Dharamsala, and two main ‘color revolution’ instruction books were translated into Tibetian by the U.S. based The Albert Einstein Institute, and with a foreword by the Dalai Lama.

    Although overt action of the CIA against China in Tibet has been stopped with the improvement of Sino-U.S. relations after Nixon went to China in 1972, covet action by other new organizations to fund many exile activities was intensified beginning with the Reagan administration. According to the 2007 Congressional Research Service report, support for Tibetan communities has “grown from $10 million in FY 2002 to $23 million in FY2006.”10. In addition, Congress increased the Democracy Fund for China to over $15 million, mainly for U.S.-based NGOs, while some go to China’s “partner NGOs,” whose name remains a secret.10.

     Another key actor in the color revolutions, particularly in Tibet is the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). It was established in 1984. Its mission, according to its first president, Allen Weinstein, was to assume the work which was “done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA”11. NED is well known for its role as an instigator of the “color revolutions” in Eastern Europe. It funded the new organization called “The International Campaign for Tibet”(ICT) in 1988. This organization focused on disseminating Tibetan books and articles in China, and “bringing Chinese journalists and pro-democracy leaders together with Tibet leaders in exile.”11. Some of the ICT members are well-known for “promoting democracy”, and they include Bette Bao Lord, the Chinese American wife of former U.S. ambassador to China, and Julia Taft, who was the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. The ICT board of advisors included Harry Wu, who is closely linked to NED, Fang Lizhi and Qiang Xiao, the former executive director of NED-funded Human Rights in China. Other organizations received funds included the Tibet Fund, which produced audio cassettes for the rural communities in Tibet, and the London-based Tibet Information Network (TIN), whose mission was to produce “accurate information about political, social, and economic developments in Tibet.”11. Although “NED was created and obtains nearly all of its funding from the United States government,”10. it funds numerous organizations which included Gu-Chu-Sum movement of Tibet, the International Campaign for Tibet, the Tibetan Women’s Association, the Longsho Youth Movement of Tibet, and the Voice of Tibet, all “have called for and organized the current uprising.”10. All these organizations “claimed to be endorsed by the Dalai Lama. They get money from the same sources the Dalai Lama gets his check from.”10.

     The Dalai Lama’s main source of finance is the Tibet Fund, which is now eligible for USAID assistance. USAID is a governmental agency providing aids to many third world countries.  It can be concluded that “the current protests by Tibetan exiles and in Tibet are at least partly financed with U.S. government money and have similarities with the color revolutions.”10.  The U.S. for over half a century has used the Dalai Lama as a “trump card to put pressure on China whenever it feels that such is appropriate.”10.

     Not surprisingly, the time to put pressure on China is after this horrific incident, where Chinese citizens were brutally slaughtered with 19 deaths and 623 injured, some of them seriously. Accordingly, both President Bush and Secretary Rice called on the Chinese counterparts to urge China to begin dialogue with the Dalai Lama and at the same time raised their “concerns about the unrest”. Mr. Bush urged for easy access for journalists and diplomats. 13.14. Once again, the instigator of this crime against humanity, the crime of violence, of looting, arson and beating, showing his true colors and objectives, is to install his puppet the Dalai Lama in Tibet and to separate Tibet from China in order to exert his imperial control and hegemony in Asia.

   It is obvious the solution of the Tibet problem for China lies in Washington, as no government should tolerate this kind interference or naked aggression from any country, let alone the so-called super power that depends on largess from China for every day loan, and its multinational corporations are reaping enormous profit from China. China must take a firm stand in dealing with Washington, openly and honestly, to the point of downgrading relations as a warning, otherwise the innocent Chinese citizens would have no security or safety in their country. One should always remember that the United States will always act according to its own interest.

Notes:

1.      Miles James: “Fire on the roof of the world” March 14, The Economist.com 

2.      Yardley Jim: “Violence in Tibet as Monks Clash with Police” March 15, New York Times

3.      BBC News: “Clash that ‘sparked’ Tibet’s Violent Protest” March 14, 2008

4.      Anti-CNN.Com

5.      Elegant Simon: “China and Tibet: The Spin Campaign” March 26, 2008 Time.Com

6.      Dgateway: “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Bomb” www. Wforum.com

7.      Bennett Richard M.: :Tibet the ‘Great Game’ and the CIA” March 26, 2008 Asia Times Online

8.      Mah B.: “America and China” P 132

9.      Margolis Eric S.: “War at the Top of the World” P 70

10.  Permalink: “Tibet Uprising and U.S. Government Grants” March 17, 2008 Moon of Alabama 

11.  Barker Michael: “Democratic Imperialism: Tibet, China, and the National Endowment for Democracy” August 13, 2007 Global Research

12.  Mah B. “America and China” P 134

13.  BBC News: “Bush calls Hu to urge Tibet talks: March 27, 2008

14.  CBC: “Offical death tool rises in Tibet Riots” March 21, 2008.