DHARAMSHALA, July 21: In a move that spoke significantly of China’s rule or lack thereof, over Tibet, local Tibetans were recently barred from attending an official celebration commemorating the “60th founding anniversary of the Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture” held by the provincial government of China’s Gansu province.
China has in the recent past organised many sham celebrations in Tibet to commemorate ‘anniversaries’ of so called Tibetan autonomous areas.
According to the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration, local Tibetans were barred from attending the celebration which, ironically, was held to depict the “development and prosperity of Tibetans under the Chinese government in the last 60 years.”
“Our presence at the celebration was deemed as a threat to social security and harmony, so we have been ordered by the local authorities not to attend the celebration,” the official Tibet.net cited a Tibetan resident as saying.
Another Tibetan was quoted as saying that hundreds of Chinese policemen surrounded the venue of the event to thwart any possible attempts by local Tibetans to take part in the celebration.
Kanlho (Ch: Gannan) Prefecture was formerly part of Tibet’s Amdo province but was later incorporated into China’s Gansu Province after invading Chinese forces occupied the whole of Tibet in 1959 and bifurcated the region into five different regions.
While local Tibetan singers and artistes were banned from performing at the event, TV personalities from China Central Television as well as Chinese singers and artistes from elsewhere were invited to perform at the event.
Several Tibetans from various parts of Kanlho have set themselves on fire in the recent past calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile.
In August last year, Chinese authorities in Machu region of Kanlho had issued a notice barring Tibetans from setting themselves on fire and deployed hundreds of armed forces during a racing festival in eastern Tibet.
The notice, issued in both Tibetan and Chinese language, barred anyone from carrying ‘flammable’ and ‘poisonous’ objects and engaging in protest activities at the event venue, and added that violating the rules listed in the notice would attract punishment ranging from ‘detention’ to prosecution in the courts.
In the same year, Chinese authorities in the same region had issued public notices encouraging the general public to secretly report to the police any “illegal” activities aimed at harming “social stability” and “national unity”.
The notice issued in all eight counties of Kanlho, labeled participation in “illegal” organisations and “fabricating and disseminating rumors on social networking sites,” as acts “endangering national security” and “harming social stability.”
Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture comprises of Sangchu county, Machu county, Luchu county, Drukchu county, Thewo county and Choney county in its jurisdiction. The largest town in the prefecture is Tsoe Township.
