TIBET PROTESTS: ICT PRESS RELEASE

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET; USA

Update from NY: 6 Tibetans have been arrested for staging a peaceful
sit-in outside the United Nations in solidarity with Tibetans inside
Tibet. We will post more details shortly.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2008

Contact: Tenzin Dorjee in New York, +646-724-0748
Lhadon Tethong in Dharamsala, India, +91-9805-237-015
Kate Woznow in New York +917-601-0069

PROTESTS RAGE ACROSS TIBET AS CHINA RESPONDS WITH BRUTE FORCE
Tibetans Clash with Chinese Troops in Lhasa; Unprecedented Unrest
Throughout Tibet

Dharamsala/New York– Chinese authorities have responded with brute force
today to ongoing protests in Lhasa and across Tibet. Sources inside
Tibet say that Chinese tanks rolled into Lhasa this morning and
thousands of armed troops have sealed off the three major monasteries
where the protests were initiated on Monday. Following a police
crackdown on a protest staged by monks from Ramoche Monastery in central
Lhasa, dozens of monks and lay people clashed with armed police in the
streets, overturning police vehicles and lighting them on fire. Police
fired live ammunition into the crowd of protesters and at least two
people and up to 33 are reported dead.

“At great risk, Tibetans across Tibet are rising up against China’s
occupation of our homeland to show the world that, five months out from
the Beijing Olympics, the situation in Tibet is critical and demands
international attention,” said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of
Students for a Free Tibet. “Years of China’s repressive policies,
repeated denunciations of the Dalai Lama, and the violent response to
peaceful demonstrations by monks earlier this week have aggravated the
tensions and desperation felt by Tibetans throughout Tibet."

In Labrang, eastern Tibet (present-day Gansu Province), 3,000 people
converged in the streets today while The Tibetan Center for Human Rights
and Democracy is reporting widespread unrest throughout the Kham
(present-day Sichuan province) and Amdo (Qinghai province) provinces of
Tibet. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said it has “received firsthand
reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other
indications of violence.” Foreign governments are calling on the Chinese
government to show restraint and have issued travel advisories for the
Tibetan Autonomous Region.

“China has swamped Tibet with Chinese settlers, poured money into
colonialist mega-projects like the railway that solidify its control,
and ruthlessly attacked Tibetan culture and religion," said Tenzin
Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “As the Olympics
approach and the world’s eyes turn to Beijing, this outpouring of
frustration is the natural consequence.”

The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, appealed to the Chinese
leadership to “stop using force and address the long-simmering
resentment of the Tibetan people.” In concert with Tibetan exiles around
the world, Tibetans inside Tibet launched the protests on Monday to mark
the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising.

“The timing and scale of this unrest throughout Tibet indicate a truly
national Tibetan uprising taking place against China’s illegal
occupation of Tibet,” added Mr. Dorjee.