An Australian tourist who was caught in Lhasa, Tibet when riots erupted last week, has returned home with quite a story:
(CNN) — Australian tourist Michael Smith says he was eating lunch in a restaurant in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, on Friday when he heard an explosion and saw smoke.
As armored vehicles and trucks carrying Chinese soldiers rushed past, Smith started videotaping.
“We’re standing here in the middle of Lhasa and the place has just [expletive] exploded,” Smith narrated during the rioting.
Smith, who was traveling in Tibet when anti-Chinese rioting broke out Friday, returned home this week with dramatic video of the violence in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, which aired on Australian TV on Wednesday.
(…)
The video shows Tibetans smashing windows and setting fire to Chinese shops and cars, while people are heard cheering. It also shows Chinese security forces, but no clashes between them and the rioters.
“It’s absolute mayhem on the streets,” Smith said.
(…)
Smith said as he made his way back to his hotel on Friday, he “met so many Tibetan people on the streets, so many young Tibetan boys just screaming for Tibet’s freedom.”
“We don’t have any freedoms,” one young Tibetan male shouted to Smith’s camera.
“The Tibetan people are going crazy,” Smith said.
One would guess that there are more accounts like this out there.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I am an American Buddhist and I don’t like what I saw on the news on Tibet. Mob stoning passersby, hitting motorists(men, women, girls) and dragging them off their bikes, setting fire to bikes, turning over trucks and lighting them on fire, smashing stores and setting them ablaze. I saw charred remains of 5 store clerks who were trapped in their store when it was looted and torched. THESE ARE VIOLENT, NOT PEACEFUL ACTS. FREEDOM OF SPEECH COMES WITH RULE OF LAW. THESE ACTS ARE NOT COMPASSION PREACHED IN BUDDHISM. WHOEVER BEHIND THESE ACTS ARE ANTI-BUDDHA, ANTI-CHRIST AND GO AGAINST ALL HUMAN DECENCY.
DALAI AND R GERE, you have broken the vow of PANCHA SILA or FIVE PRECEPTS:
#1 Thou shall not kill
#2 Thou shall not take what is not given
#3 Thou shall not distort facts
#4 Thou shall refrain from misuse of the senses
#5 Thou shall refrain from self-intoxication through alcohol or drugs
March 27th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I just can’t believe that monks could kill!!!
March 30th, 2008 at 11:37 am
this doesn’t look like a peaceful demonstration to me…
We are all screwed by the media!
March 31st, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Many Germony media maked up and published news that was distorted by themselves.
Up to now ,I respect Germon,but I don’t know why the Germon meida obey the rule of news!!They insult the Chinese even the Germony people!
April 13th, 2008 at 8:11 am
It is too terrible.
Western media hurt Chinese people this time. The result will be too bad.This world can not leave China.
We need to repect facts and truth!
I support China and Beijing Olympics.
April 13th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
It’s really bloody. It’s really a shame of western media.