01 February 2007

Murder in the Mountains – follow up

In September a Romanian cameraman created an international outcry when he caught footage of a Chinese border guard casually opening fire on a group of unarmed Tibetans as they tried to flee the country. Although 41 members of this party managed to reach India, at least two were murdered (There is no other word for it); a further 32 were captured

Jaymang Samten, 15, claims to have been one of those captured. After capture he was initially interrogated over a three-day period during which he was repeatedly hit with an electric cattle prod. "It went on until I fainted," Samten told reporters, adding that police repeatedly asked him to identify the dead nun.

The group was then taken to a prison in Shigatse, Tibet's second-largest city. They were questioned again while chained to a wall, he said. "A guard wearing a metal glove would hit us in the stomach." Samten was then held in a labour camp there for 48 days and forced to dig ditches, build fences and work on fields. Once released, he paid guides to take him via Nepal to India.

The account could not be verified but echoes the stories of others who have made similar treks. Lobsang Gyaltsen, who managed to escape when Samten was captured, said he had been walking for 17 days when Chinese guards caught up with his group, who had eaten little and spent days struggling over ice and rock.

More than 4,000 Tibetans flee to Nepal each year across the border. Others don't make it.

6 comments:

beakerkin said...

Some of these Tibetians emigrate to the United States. I have had a handful of cases in recent weeks.

Tibetians do not blow up public transportation and are ignored by the media. Of course the brutal reaction of China to any such activity would make such tactics unthinkable. Tibetians are one of many indigenous people ignored by the media.

jams o donnell said...

To be honest Beakerkin add the Tibetans' lack of violence to the wish to dip the bread into teh gravy train that is the Chinese economy and you have a roaring silence.. It sucks, doesn't it

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Ummm, yeah. Without the Chinese its speculated that Americans wouldn't have shoes anymore. We wouldn't be able to hold traditional Christmas festivities since the Chinese make most of our ornaments, fake trees, etc. Let us not forget American military uniforms that have parts of it made in China too. Yes, the new American slogan for the millennium should read as follows, "In China We Trust." Well, at least for cheap manufactured imports.

jams o donnell said...

NO wonder people are less inclined to have a go at China. Doesnt make it right though

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Add that to the fact that China now has 33 million men with no brides in sight thanks to their infanticide populace control policies. No girls. No women. 33 million men full of testosterone and nowhere to go. Scary. I've heard reports that CHina may be all too eager to send men off to a war to thin out their numbers a bit. The irony that I say that while wearing my Made In China rugby styled shirt is not lost on me.

jams o donnell said...

That is one scenario I hope does not pan out or Taiwan is screwed and probably some of its neighbouts...