China's Crackdown in Tibet
2008 Olympics Host's Human Rights Abuses & Oppression of the Region
A look at China's crackdown in Tibet, a brief history of the disputed region and why it has taken the forthcoming Beijing Olympics to bring it to the world's attention.
There has recently been an international outcry over China's crackdown on Tibetan demonstrators. The issue of autonomy for the region has once again come to the fore in the international media.
While the Olympic flame's troubled journey to Beijing continues amid protests, so too does China's suppression of Tibetan demonstrators unabated, which on April 5 the Guardian stated, "was not unlike Burma's junta". The recent demonstrations began with a march by Buddhist monks on the 49th anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. Although there have been protests before, the current series of events have escalated to the point where the death toll has been quoted by Tibetan exiles at 140, which will likely rise further as the crackdown rages on.
History of the Dispute
The Chinese government claims that the region of Tibet has belonged to China since the 13th century. However, as reported by the BBC on April 7, Tibetans point out that the Himalayan region "was an independent kingdom for many centuries, and that Chinese rule over Tibet has not been constant". Tibet governed itself independent of Chinese interference until 1950 when Beijing invaded the region. Since then Tibet has been under Chinese governance. The spiritual leader of Tibet, the exiled Dalai Lama advocates peaceful protest directed at Chinese rule. He has campaigned tirelessly for more autonomy for the region, which he was recognised for in 1989 with the Nobel Peace Prize. However, China maintains that he wants total independence for Tibet, and that his aim is to create tension through orchestration of the current protests.
International Outcry
The US president, George Bush, recently spoke to China's president, Hu Jintao, to voice his concerns over the situation in Tibet. According to USA Today, taken from a White House statement, Bush "pushed very hard about violence in Tibet, a necessity for restraint and a need for China to consult with representatives of the Dalai Lama". Elsewhere the French president Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic games this summer. However, Bush views the games as a sports event, separate from political issues.
Even so, his comments are quite unbelievable. Here is a US president who has breached human rights on any number of levels, from illegally invading foreign countries, starting illegal wars and pursuing the policy of extraordinary rendition. Despite the distorted views he may hold of his own foreign policy being that of a moral crusade, the president is in no position to preach to others about human rights, even if the situation in question is as horrendous as Jintao's crackdown in Tibet. The same can be said for the Labour government in Britain.
Media Attention
Would the level of media attention regarding Tibet be the case if China were not about to host the Olympics? Does it take the added detail of such an important event to actually expose China's horrendous treatment of Tibetan protestors? Sadly it seemingly does. The fact that it is an international humanitarian crisis is evidently not enough to warrant the issue's attention. Yet it is worse still, that come September, when the Olympics have been and gone, and China has weathered the storm of protests and international condemnation, Tibet will still suffer at the hands of Beijing, the Dalai Lama will remain exiled and it is likely that China's suppression of Tibet will be forgotten about by the world's media.
Selective media coverage dictates what we read in newspapers and watch on television. It is apparent that if it isn't "new" it does not make the news. Darfur anyone?
