Beijing: more aid to Tibet to ensure stability, as the governor resigns
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Beijing wants to ensure " long term stability" in Tibet increasing "economic investment and assistance." President Hu Jintao stated this on 8 January during a Politburo meeting of the Communist Party on the central Himalayan region. The high-level meeting set out new directions for the Congress of the Tibetan people to be held January 10 to 15 in Lhasa. The governor of the autonomous region, Qiangba Puncog (see photo), and the chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Congress, Legqog ,will both resign.
After the street protests erupted in March 2008 in Lhasa and elsewhere, which were violently repressed with hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests, the situation in Tibet remains tense and many areas are still under de facto martial law.
According to state media, economic development remains a key point of the Chinese strategy for stability in the region. Beijing has spent 2 thousand billion Yuan (about 200 billion Euros) in 50 years leading up to 2008 and has covered about 90% of the costs of the Tibetan government.
Contrasting this, Tibetans are seeking freedom of religion and expression and complain that economic aid benefits the ethnic Han in particular, of which Beijing has encouraged massive immigration with economic concessions and the awarding of government posts, to the point that the native Tibetans are now a minority in their own country. Many of the demonstrators in March 2008 were young Tibetans exacerbated by the difficulty in receiving a good education and finding work. The Politburo also decided to send more party officials and specialists in various fields to the area.
Dr Kerry Brown, an expert in the field, told the South China Morning Post that such a policy can only provide stability in the short run but will not last, because "the government of Hu Jintao will not tolerate any kind of local movement in Tibet, which challenges the legitimacy of the government. There are no signs that they will accept a compromise".
Beijing has reacted to the protests with extensive military control and the systematic elimination of opponents to the Chinese government, it has also closed many monasteries arresting dozens of monks. A few months before the Beijing Olympics in August 2008, the Chinese government opened a "negotiating table" with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader in exile, fearing that the widespread international protest for the repression could lead to boycotts and bad publicity. But because of the intransigence of Chinese negotiations it has not had any results and was abruptly interrupted by Beijing shortly after the end of the Games.
The news of the resignation Qiangba Puncog and Legqog was reported with emphasis on Xinhua. But the reasons behind the resignation are unclear: whether for promotion or marginalization. The two were protagonists of the repression that followed the riots of March 2008. When the first demonstrations erupted, Qiangba was in Beijing and had to return quickly to the region.
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12/02/2009
