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Tibetans 'forced to take part in ce



Subject: Tibetans 'forced to take part in celebration'

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Friday, October 1, 1999

Tibetans 'forced to take part in celebration'

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Tibetans are being forced to join in National Day celebrations and tight
security has been clamped on the region, a watchdog group said
yesterday.
"Tibetans in Lhasa have been told that their pay or pension will be cut
if
they fail to take part in rehearsals for celebrations of the 50th
anniversary," the London-based Tibet Information Network said.

Children and retirees had been required to memorise patriotic songs and
attend dance classes in the run-up to the celebrations, in which they
would
be ordered to wave Chinese flags, it said.

The region has been held under tightened security for most of the year,
as
nervous authorities attempted to stifle unrest during a series of
sensitive
dates, including the 40th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight into
exile
in 1959.

While Beijing has ordered tight security across the mainland in
anticipation
of the 50th anniversary, special attention has been given to Tibet,
frequently the site of pro-independence demonstrations.

On National Day in 1987, a group of monks shouted independence slogans
and
waved the Tibetan flag outside a Lhasa monastery before being detained
by
police.

The small protest soon erupted into a rally of 2,000 people who
surrounded
the police station where the monks were detained and set the building
ablaze.

Three monks were shot dead as they tried to flee the burning police
station,
the network said.

It pointed to a White Paper on national minorities policy released by
Beijing this week, saying it indicated "serious concerns" remain about
security in the region.

The White Paper, published through state media, said the Government
would
continue to "safeguard national unity against acts aimed at splitting
the
country", including "plots for the independence of Tibet".

During the recent Minority Games in Lhasa, Tibetan farmer Tashi Tsering
lowered the Chinese flag at Potala Square and attempted to detonate a
bomb
strapped to his body, the network said.

He was detained by police and reportedly "severely beaten", the network
said, citing reports indicating that Tsering was a member of the
Communist
Party.

Separate reports said two monks and two nuns were detained by
authorities
after shouting slogans at a cultural performance to commemorate the
games.