In world news, over eighty people are feared dead in Tibet following a wave of anti-government protests against Chinese rule. Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, accused China of waging cultural genocide. Protests began a week ago, when Buddhist monks took to the streets of Lhasa to mark the anniversary of the 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. Protests then spread to other Chinese provinces with Tibetan populations. Hundreds of Chinese soldiers are now patrolling Lhasa following an outbreak of violence on Friday when Tibetan protesters set fire to Chinese-owned shops.
China has issued an ultimatum to protesters to surrender by midnight tonight or face harsh punishment. The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy reports hundreds of Tibetans have already been arrested. China has also barred foreign reporters from Tibet and blocked access to many websites, including YouTube, where video of the protests have been posted over the past week. The demonstrations come less than 200 days before the start of the summer Olympics in Beijing. Tibetans living in exile have been holding protests across the globe. In New York, several hundred Tibetans and supporters gathered outside the Chinese Consulate on Saturday.

Namgyal Hormitsang: “Struggling to get freedom and independence for our country for fifty years, with the peaceful means or nonviolence, and there is not much — no fruitful result for it. So, I think if this problem is not resolved soon, there will be a different approach from the youngsters. Youngsters are getting frustrated.”

Another protester criticized China’s human rights record.

Ghamo Dongtotsang: “We don’t want the Chinese to get away with all the things that they are doing in their own country. I mean, it’s not only in Tibet; in China, their own people don’t have that freedom. And also they are influencing — in Darfur, they are talking about the Chinese influence there, too. I mean, they are affecting people all over the world and not in a good way. And that’s what we think of Olympics: we want it to go to a nation that appreciates basic human rights.”