EVEREST 2008: China Arrests Hundreds in Tibet, Dalai Lama Threatens to Step Down, France Discussing an Olympic Boycott

China has arrested hundreds of native Tibetans after the recent uprisings against the Chinese Government. The arrests came about after a strict warning that China would begin rounding up protesters if they refused to turn themselves in by a midnight deadline. The Chinese soldiers began going door-to-door in Tibet, making arrests as they went along.

1,000 Tibetans have been Detained

By Monday, 1,000 Tibetans had been arrested by Chinese paramilitary police hunting down those responsible for the recent anti-Chinese riots that have taken place across Tibet and into India and beyond. 600 people were rounded up Saturday, with another 300 being arrested on Sunday.

This crackdown has come about after 13 deaths were reported in anti-chinese riots taking place on Friday.

” With the expiry at midnight yesterday of a deadline for the Tibetan protesters who on Friday stabbed and hacked ethnic Han Chinese, hurled rocks and set fire to offices, shops and schools, the search for those involved has gathered momentum.

China Blames Dalai Lama

Chinese authorities have went public, laying blame for the recent uprisings on the exiled Dalai Lama, who now resides in India. Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier, went on to say that the Tibetans were trying to sabotage the olympic games in an effort to have their cause heard.

Over the recent days of rioting and arrests, a sense of stability is returning to Lhasa and neighboring areas.

Dalai Lama Threatens to Resign

Tuesday, the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans leader and spiritual guide in exile, threatened to step down as leader of Tibet’s government if violence by Tibetans continued to escalate. After Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao accused the Dalai Lama’s supporters of being seperatists and instigating the violence against the chinese people, The Dalai Lama responded with some harsh words for his own people.

The Dalai Lama stated to reporters that he wants his countrymen to show restraint. That if things continue to go out of control in Lhasa and the Tibetan region, that he will have no other choice but to step down as the Tibetan leader. The Dalai Lama also spoke to a group of Tibetan exiles who are currently marching to Lhasa from nearby India, to stop their march at the border. “Will you get Independence? What’s the use?”

The Dalai Lama has reassured his people that violence is not the answer and that Independence may be to much to ask for. Native Tibetans have been a bit critical of his recent stance, saying that the Dalai Lama has not been pressing the Tibetan issues hard enough.

Over the recent years, the Dalai Lama has went from a stance of complete Tibetan independence to one of a more autonomous nature. He believes that in order for the Tibetan religion and culture to survive, that the tibetans will have to learn to live with China.

The Dalai Lama’s vocal stance in recent days was probably enhanced by China laying blame on himself and his followers for inciting violence–something the Dalai Lama is well known to be against. He has challenged China to come to India, search his offices, and even check his “urine and stool” to prove that he had nothing to do with the recent uprisings.

France Discusses Olympic Boycott

France’s foreign minister Bernard Kouchner has raised the issue that the European Union should boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics on the grounds of the recent violence over Tibet. He did state that France has no intention of Boycotting the whole Olympics, but might be interested in an Olympic Ceremony Boycott to affirm their stance against what France sees as human rights issues.

Young Tibetans Reject Dalai Lama Stance on Autonomy
(Sources: TimesOnline, AP NEWS, International Herald Tribune, Yahoo News, The Drudge Report,CNN