-By Radio Free Asia
Police were out in force in the capital after a young Tibetan set himself on fire in protest days earlier.
Security was noticeably tightened in Tibet’s capital Lhasa Thursday on the sensitive anniversary of an uprising against Beijing’s rule, according to sources in the region, barely a week after a well-known Tibetan singer set himself on fire in protest in front of the city’s iconic Potala Palace.
Sources said that military vehicles were out in force in the capital, while many of the streets were blocked off on the day that, 63 years earlier, saw tens of thousands of Tibetans flood the city to protest China’s occupation of their homeland. The uprising was later crushed by Chinese security forces and led to a heavy crackdown on the Tibetan people and the flight of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to India.
“There is a huge Chinese military presence in Lhasa today and the driver of every car or vehicle passing through is being interrogated and told to show their identity card,” one source told RFA’s Tibetan Service, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source said that as early as last month, authorities had been hiring unemployed Tibetans in settlements on the outskirts of Lhasa to enter the city to “monitor the situation” for any signs of unrest, particularly in areas around the revered Sera, Drepung, and Ganden monasteries. Click here to read more.