ANALYST VIEW: Riots in Tibet
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao accused the Dalai Lama of orchestrating riots in Tibet in which dozens may have died and said his followers were trying to "incite sabotage" of Beijing's August Olympic Games.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, has denied the charges and said he would resign as Tibetan leader if violence got out of control.
COMMENTARY
SIMON LITTLEWOOD, PRESIDENT OF CONSULTING FIRM "ASIA NOW"
IN SINGAPORE:
"There are economic difficulties in Lhasa along with much of China, where food price inflation has created a very difficult situation for the poorer members of society. I think it's a combination of factors but economics is a very important factor at this point.
"If you're at the bottom end of the social spectrum, a significant rise in the price of port and bread and other staples is very difficult, because it can mean the difference between eating and not eating. Tibet, although it's been significantly improved by Chinese investment, is still essentially a country of poor people.
"The notion that the Dalai Lama has any role to play in politics is just the height of self-delusion ... there's absolutely no possibility of any kind of compromise between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, that isn't going to happen."
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TONY KEVIN, ANALYST WITH AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY'S
SCHOOL OF PACIFIC AND ASIAN STUDIES:
He said the muted international reaction to China's crackdown was expected, given China's economic and strategic importance in the world.
"China ... as always with major powers, is subjected to different standards of human rights than less important countries.
"There's generally a passive view that China is too big and too hot to touch in any but formal and restrained ways. Everybody can jump up and down and get into a huge lather about Darfur and so on, but with China and Tibet, it's harder."
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WANG LIXIONG, A BEIJING-BASED DISSIDENT WRITER, PUBLISHED
THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS ON THE OVERSEAS CHINESE-LANGUAGE WEB SITE BOXUN (www.peacehall.com):
"The Chinese Communist Party always considers only the immediate in dealing with ethnic issues, and puts petty gains ahead of lasting concerns.
"For the time being, the forceful crackdown appears to be effective. But is it a great blessing just to keep a lid on chaos, so that that nobody dares voice any discontent? In fact it is not. When people petition, resist and even riot, that shows that they retain some hope in resolving their problems under the direction of the government. But when they no longer say or do anything, that is not stability. It is despair."
"The current power-holders approach can produce only momentary intimidation, but viewed in the longer run it will breed an even bigger eruption."
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DAMIEN RYAN, A HONG KONG-BASED MEDIA ADVISOR TO
CORPORATIONS, INCLUDING OLYMPIC SPONSORS:
"It is early days at the moment but if this escalates, the sponsors will face increasing pressure from rights groups.
"They may start to look at the situation critically and start asking if they want their brand associated with all this.
"Darfur groups are still far more organized than the Tibet groups. You're not seeing them going for the sponsors in the way the Darfur groups do yet. Olympic sponsors really need to have a response or a well-thought out message because they are going to get challenged on this."
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CHINA DAILY COMMENTARY:
"There have been loud cries from overseas calling for the Chinese government to exercise 'restraint' in handling the violence in Tibet. But the voices, intentionally or otherwise, are almost silent over the violent acts that ravaged parts of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, on Friday.
"Those acts, from setting fire to buildings; torching police cars as well as private vehicles; looting banks, schools and shops to stabbing innocent civilians, are ones that most governments around the world would take drastic actions to stop and condemn if they happened in their own countries.
"It is ironic, and even ridiculous, to raise the issue of 'human rights' when the rioters have infringed upon the rights of the majority of Lhasa people -- as well as all the residents on the Roof of the World -- to live and work in the holy land to improve their lives and work in peace and prosperity."
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JAKARTA POST COMMENTARY:
"Unfortunately, between the monk-led protests and the desire to draw international attention to Tibet's aspirations for autonomy on the one hand, and Beijing's no-compromise approach to anything that could disrupt the Olympics on the other, violence became inevitable.
"Both camps must work to avoid a repeat of the clashes for their own immediate and long-term interests. The peace may be provisional at best until a negotiated settlement is reached, but it will set the two sides on the path to a more lasting peace."
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