China Holds Anti-Terror Exercises in Tibet
(Reuters | September 13, 2004)
Beijing: China staged anti-terror maneuvers in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, citing a rise in global terrorism since Sept. 11, state media said on Monday. The local garrison of the People's Liberation Army, police, paramilitary forces and militia took part in the joint exercises on Sunday, Xinhua said, noting they took place a day after the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Human rights groups have expressed concern that China is using the global war on terrorism as an excuse to crack down on Tibet and in the Muslim region of Xinjiang in the west. "The anti-terrorist maneuvers, in the context of increased terrorist acts around the world, were staged to check the region's response mechanism in case of terror attacks," Xinhua quoted organizers as saying.
Three hours of exercises covered methods of countering hijackings and explosions, biochemical weapons and seizure of terrorists, it said. Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and Beijing considers the Himalayan region part of its territory. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India in 1959, and has led a government in exile that is trying to win more autonomy for the region. Many Tibetans living abroad and human rights groups have charged that Chinese authorities have a poor rights record in the region, though Beijing denies abuses.
Friends of Tibet (INDIA),
PO Box 16674, Bombay 400050
www.friendsoftibet.org