15 May 2008
Reports emerged of aftermath of demonstrations
(AFP; NYT; TCHRD) Reports are appearing about the current situation in Tibet and the fate of those who have been arrested following the protests that began in March. A 38-year old man named as Kusang Sonam gave a media interview from a refugee centre in India, where he told of troops killing Tibetan protestors in Kardze prefecture with "long knives" and guns and hurling the bodies like "carcasses" into police vans. The New York Times (NYT) interviewed a monk in Labrang monastery who told of systematic beatings during which Chinese troops jeered: "The Dalai Lama, Western countries and the United States aren't protecting you now. Tell them to come and save you!" One monk told the NYT: "There won't be any more protests before the Olympics; people are just too scared. The pressure is too great". The testimony of a Tibetan youth who was arrested in the aftermath of the Lhasa unrest was obtained by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). The interviewee described the use of extreme torture in prison and victims of serious violence, including those with gunshot wounds, being thrown in jail and denied access to medical treatment. He also spoke of the unwavering hope of support from the outside world.