Death Roll
We do not yet—and we may never—know the actual number of people arrested and executed by the Chinese authorities in Tibet during the last one month or so. The official announcement says two “criminals” have been executed while Tibetans sources claim 20 are known to have died so far for being ‘political activists.’
Two points should be kept in mind while reviewing the Chinese admission. First, they had to make some sort of admission since the news of the execution was confirmed by no less an authority than a foreign diplomat stationed in Lhasa and widely publicised by the international media. Still, it took them two weeks to do so. Secondly, the designation of the six executed—two Tibetans, three Chinese and a Manchu—as ‘convicted criminals’ should not rule out the possibility of their being something else. Anybody who opposes the Chinese rule, for instance, of course, always gets convicted as a criminal. As to the inclusion of non-Tibetans among the victims, we only have Peking’s word for that. Tibetan reports claim that all those executed were their compatriots. Even the Nepalese diplomat’s version has two more Tibetans than does the official announcement. By calling four of them non-Tibetans, Peking might have hoped to show that those executed were really criminals and not political activists as charged by the Tibetans. On the other hand, it is possible that there were really only two Tibetans lined up for execution, and four Chinese were added simply to make it look like a mixed bunch of criminals. Countless past instances exist to prove the Chinese communist ability of staging such ‘real-life drama.’
All right then, let us drop this bickering attitude and take the Chinese statements as the gospel truth: only two Tibetans were executed. The charges against them-gun running, robbery and resisting arrest. Several questions immediately arise: whose guns were they in the first place that were being clandestinely carted around? Who were robbed by the alleged criminals? And of what possessions? Why did not they surrender upon discovery if they were common criminals and assured of a fair trial instead of resorting to a course of action that would have signed their own death warrants even in a free society? It will be interesting to see how long the Chinese authorities will take to dust off their files and provide answers to these questions.
We do not yet—and we may never—know the actual number of people arrested and executed by the Chinese authorities in Tibet during the last one month or so. The official announcement says two “criminals” have been executed while Tibetans sources claim 20 are known to have died so far for being ‘political activists.’
Two points should be kept in mind while reviewing the Chinese admission. First, they had to make some sort of admission since the news of the execution was confirmed by no less an authority than a foreign diplomat stationed in Lhasa and widely publicised by the international media. Still, it took them two weeks to do so. Secondly, the designation of the six executed—two Tibetans, three Chinese and a Manchu—as ‘convicted criminals’ should not rule out the possibility of their being something else. Anybody who opposes the Chinese rule, for instance, of course, always gets convicted as a criminal. As to the inclusion of non-Tibetans among the victims, we only have Peking’s word for that. Tibetan reports claim that all those executed were their compatriots. Even the Nepalese diplomat’s version has two more Tibetans than does the official announcement. By calling four of them non-Tibetans, Peking might have hoped to show that those executed were really criminals and not political activists as charged by the Tibetans. On the other hand, it is possible that there were really only two Tibetans lined up for execution, and four Chinese were added simply to make it look like a mixed bunch of criminals. Countless past instances exist to prove the Chinese communist ability of staging such ‘real-life drama.’
All right then, let us drop this bickering attitude and take the Chinese statements as the gospel truth: only two Tibetans were executed. The charges against them-gun running, robbery and resisting arrest. Several questions immediately arise: whose guns were they in the first place that were being clandestinely carted around? Who were robbed by the alleged criminals? And of what possessions? Why did not they surrender upon discovery if they were common criminals and assured of a fair trial instead of resorting to a course of action that would have signed their own death warrants even in a free society? It will be interesting to see how long the Chinese authorities will take to dust off their files and provide answers to these questions.
posted by editorla at
9:22 PM
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