2008 Tibetan Unrest - Background

Background

The political situation in Tibet makes the area especially sensitive, but it is also reported by some western media that a number of simmering socio-economic issues may have led to the riots in Lhasa on March 14. The Economist reporter James Miles, when asked in an interview if the Dalai Lama was responsible for the riots, responded that he "didn't see any evidence of any organized activity" and that "it's more likely that what we saw was yes inspired by a general desire of Tibetans both inside Tibet and among the Dalai Lama's followers, to take advantage of this Olympic year. But also inspired simply by all these festering grievances on the ground in Lhasa," and he noted in another report that " rioting seemed to be primarily an eruption of ethnic hatred." Some Tibetans also complained about social discrimination, unequal pay, and rumors that Tibetan monks had been arrested, and even killed, in the days before the riots.

In recent years many migrants from other parts of the People's Republic of China have been moving into Lhasa and now own many of the city's small businesses. According to the Tibetan Independence Movement and some western media, Tibetans in Lhasa are angered by inflation that has caused the prices of food and consumer goods to increase. Residents were worried that a railway built to link Lhasa to China would increase the number of migrants in the city, but they accepted it because the government assured them that cheaper transportation would keep prices lower. However, as in other parts of the country, prices have continued to rise, creating resentment amongst the residents of Lhasa. Tibetan youth complain about not having equal access to jobs and education.

Chinese Communist Party authorities in Tibet have said that the uprising was masterminded by the Dalai Lama, whom the People's Republic of China government accuses of separatism. The uprising coincided with demonstrations to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising in other countries.

The Chinese Ministry for Public Security alleged that those who were arrested after the unrest confessed they were found and employed by some unknown persons to undertake the violence, such as arson, destroying shops and attacking non-Tibetan civilians, with a daily payment of several RMB ". The same source also claimed one of their prisoners, who worked as a monk in a monastery in Lhasa but had been arrested in the revolt of 1989 and released after imprisonment for propagandizing the Tibetan independence movement confessed that he had found some unemployed men and released convicts and paid them to commit the violence.