FROM PHAYUL

25 April 2008

Authorities prepare ceremony for Olympic torch in Potala Square

As the crackdown deepens in Tibet and people continue to 'disappear' almost every day in Lhasa, preparations are underway by the authorities for a ceremony known as 'safeguard the torch and love one's country' to be held in the Potala Square to mark the torch's ascent of Mt. Chomolungma (Everest) in early May.

The authorities are imposing even tighter restrictions in Lhasa and the Shigatse area to prepare for the Olympic torch relay. According to reliable reports, a curfew is likely to be imposed in Lhasa when the torch passes through, in addition to the already severe restrictions on movement in the capital. Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region government Jampa Phuntsog said on 9 April at a news conference in Beijing that if there are any "problems" during the Olympic torch relay from Tibetans, "We will without doubt deal with these persons severely...we will not be merciful."

Non-Chinese international media based in China , who had been approved to report on the attempt to take the torch up Everest were told on Tuesday, the day of their scheduled departure, that the media trip had been postponed and partially cancelled ( Reuters, AP, 22 April ). The Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympics Games (BOCOG) claimed that this was due to "unsuitable weather".

The situation in Lhasa remains tense, with detentions still occurring and serious concerns for the welfare of monks under lockdown in the monasteries of Sera, Drepung and Ganden. Severe conditions have been reported in detention centers and prisons. Due to deprivation of water and food, prisoners have been forced to drink their own urine at Gutsa Detention Center in Lhasa and other detention facilities, and many are undergoing severe torture and aggressive interrogation, according to several reliable sources in touch with eyewitnesses.

China is now resorting to even harsher measures to subdue and silence the Tibetan people, which are having an impact in terms of information reaching the outside world. On an official website, the Lhasa authorities warned today that there would be repercussions for Tibetans who "spread rumors, create disturbances and deceive the public", as part of the political campaign against "separatists". Similar threats and warnings were made elsewhere in Tibet as authorities sought to achieve an information blackout. In Jyekundo (Chinese: Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai, armed police raided households and took away components of satellite televisions, according to the Tibetan government in exile.

Full article at Phayul