Was that the mosque?
Posted on 03/28/2008 2:26:28 AM PDT by ninonitti
LHASA, China—Police closed off Lhasa's Muslim quarter on Friday, two weeks after Tibetan rioters burned down the city's mosque amid the largest anti-Chinese protests in nearly two decades.
Officers blockaded streets into the area, allowing in only residents and worshippers observing the Muslim day of prayer. A heavy security presense lingered in other parts of Lhasa's old city as clean-up crews waded through the destruction inflicted when days of initially peaceful protests turned deadly on March 14.
It was not clear why the area was cordoned off, although rioters had prominently targeted businesses belonging to Chinese Muslim migrants known as Hui, who control much of Lhasa's commerce.
The protests were the longest and most-sustained challenge to China's rule in the Himalayan region since 1989. The ensuing crackdown by Chinese authorities has focused international attention on China's human rights record in the runup to the Olympic Games.
China has faced growing calls from the United States and other nations to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, along with suggestions from some leaders that they were considering boycotting the Olympics' opening ceremony in protest at Beijing's handling of the Tibetan situation.
Apparently as a result of the pressure, the Foreign Ministry is allowing a group of foreign diplomats to visit Lhasa on Friday and Saturday.
A U.S. diplomat will be on that trip, said U.S. Embassy Spokeswoman Susan Stevenson. She had no other details.
A woman who answered the phone at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said she did not know about the trip. She would not give her name, as is common among Chinese bureaucrats. another monk said, referring to Chinese security forces.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Dude needs to learn his geography.
It’s called Lhasa, Tibet.
He's on a ChiCom Chairman Mao Running Lackey Dog Magical Mystery Tour, probably alot of self censoring going on to stay on the bus.
Wow, they burnt down the mosque? I took pictures of that very mosque just before the protests began.
Thats AP style, you get what you get with them. I’d like to see what HH the Dalai Lama has to say about the mosque being burned down, I doubt he’d be on board with that. My guess is the ‘security forces’ accidentally dropped their cigarette and 5 gallons of gas. The PRC is no friend of Islam.
Was that the mosque?
That’s the only mosque I saw in Lhasa. Must be the one.
China has faced growing calls from the United States and other nations to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, along with suggestions from some leaders that they were considering boycotting the Olympics' opening ceremony in protest at Beijing's handling of the Tibetan situation.
Apparently as a result of the pressure, the Foreign Ministry is allowing a group of foreign diplomats to visit Lhasa on Friday and Saturday.
A woman who answered the phone at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said she did not know about the trip. She would not give her name, as is common among Chinese bureaucrats. another monk said, referring to Chinese security forces.
The above text has been changed or does not exist at all in the article at the link. Does the Boston Globe reserve the right to alter its articles after publishing them?
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