In 2009 Tibet will commemorate the tragic event of the 50th anniversary of 1959 rising against Chinese occupation. According to the Tibetan government in exile, repression by the Chinese army resulted in at least 86.000 Tibetan people dead. To commemorate the event, an important Tibetan organization in exile has called Tibetans to forgo the celebration of their New Year. Beijing has retaliated with the preventive arrest of dozens of people.

This is what media such as The Times has been reporting in the last days. Quoting local witnesses, the London newspaper published yesterday that police has arrested this week "dozens of people" accused of being involved in the ‘No New Year' campaign against Chinese occupation -Tibetan New Year starting on February 25th. According to the newspaper, Chinese forces detained people of "all ages" in the streets and teahouses of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. The appeal against the Losar (Tibetan New Year) is an initiative launched by the Tibetan Youth Congress, the largest and most active non-governmental organisation of Tibetans in exile. Despite having its headquarters abroad (Dharamsala, India) posters calling to boycott celebrations have been put up in the streets of Lhasa.

This week's arrests have not been the only recent China's crackdown in Tibet. Payhul on-line Tibetan newspaper reports that police arrested at least 81 people throughout January. According to official sources it is nothing but a crackdown against crime, but organizations such as the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy believes that the ulterior motive of the paramilitary operations is "to detain those Tibetans suspected to be involved in the 2008 spring protests" prior to the Olympics.

First ‘Serfs Emancipation Day'

China is not only detaining people indiscriminately as a preliminary measure for the 50th anniversary of the repression against 1959 Tibetan rising. Symbols are also important, so it does not seem a coincidence that the Parliament of the Autonomous Region of Tibet (controlled by the Communist Party of China) designated March 28th as an annual ‘Serfs Emancipation Day' last January 19th. According to Xinhua official news agency, the day will celebrate "the end of serfdom and the abolition of the hierarchic social system characterized by theocracy, with the Dalai Lama as the core of the leadership", and will "mark the date on which about 1 million serfs in the region were freed 50 years ago".

Més informació:

• Phayul: Dozens arrested as 'No New Year' movement spreads
• The Guardian: China detains 81 people in Tibet crackdown