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TEARS OF ANGUISH: A Tibetan Buddhist monk (centre) crying during a visit by foreign journalists to Lhasa's Jokhang Temple, one of Tibet's holiest shrines. -- PHOTO: AP
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LHASA - A CAREFULLY orchestrated visit for foreign reporters to Tibet's capital was disrupted yesterday by a group of monks shouting that there was no religious freedom.
The outburst was an embarrassment for the Chinese government, which was trying hard to show how peaceful Lhasa was after the March 14 riots.
As the group of 26 journalists was being shown around the Jokhang Temple, one of Tibet's holiest shrines, by government handlers, about 30 monks in maroon robes rushed forward.
'Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free!' yelled one young monk as he started to cry.
'This had nothing to do with the Dalai Lama,' said another, referring to the March 14 riots. The Chinese government says 22 people died in the unrest, while Tibetan exiles say the violence and a harsh crackdown afterwards left nearly 140 people dead.
'They want us to crush the Dalai Lama and that is not right,' one monk said during the 15-minute outburst.
The government has blamed the riots on 'the Dalai clique', referring to the Dalai Lama and his supporters.
The handlers shouted for the journalists to leave and tried to pull them away.
Before the tour of Jokhang Temple, the media group had visited a Tibet medical clinic that had been attacked and was shown a store where five girls had burned to death.
The monks, who spoke in Tibetan at first and then switched to Mandarin, said they were upset because a government administrator was telling the reporters that Tibet had been part of China for centuries.
One monk said the authorities planted monks in the monastery to talk to the journalists. He said they are 'not true believers but...Communist Party members'.
The media group was kept away from any potential hot spots, including the Ramoche monastery, where the violence started on March 14. The narrow lanes leading to the monastery were sealed off by riot police in dark-blue uniforms.
The reporters were also taken to a detention centre, which housed some of the rioters. Police officers acted as interpreters for Tibetan detainees who spoke little Mandarin.
Luoya, who like many Tibetans uses just one name, admitted burning down a motorcycle shop in Dazhi county, just east of Lhasa.
'All my friends were setting fires so I joined them,' the 25-year-old said. He was arrested about five days after the rioting, but he did not say how he was caught.
He said he hoped for greater leniency by talking to reporters.
When asked about relations between Tibetans and Chinese in Lhasa, Luoya said: 'There are no relations.'
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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