S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 003006

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2033
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF KOLY CH NE EU
SUBJECT: TIBET: DUTCH DIPLOMAT REPORTS TENSION, HEAVY
MILITARY PRESENCE IN LHASA JULY 21-25

REF: BEIJING 1210

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson,
Reasons 1.4 (b/d).


1. (C) Summary: A Beijing-based Dutch diplomat
(protect) who traveled to Lhasa and Shigatse July 21-
25 told PolOff August 1 that tensions remain very high
between Han Chinese and Tibetans, noting that working-
level Han and Tibetan government officials he met with
were openly contemptuous of one another. According to
our Dutch colleague, many Tibetan residents of Lhasa
predict violence during upcoming religious festivals.
The diplomat observed "military" troops patrolling the
Barkhor area at night in armored vehicles. People's
Liberation Army and People's Armed Police forces were
on every street corner, he reported. Tourists, mostly
Han but a few foreign, are again visiting Lhasa. Some
monasteries are open, but, our Dutch counterpart said,
very few monks could be seen at religious sites.
Meanwhile, a member of the EU Parliament also visited
Lhasa July 19-22, but his trip was reportedly tightly
controlled and Tibet government officials only
repeated standard talking points blaming the Dalai
Lama for the March unrest. End summary.

Dutch Bypass MFA To Win Permission for Visit
--------------


2. (S) Dutch Embassy First Secretary Job van den Berg
(protect) visited Lhasa and Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous
Region (TAR), July 21-25 to inspect cultural
preservation projects funded by the Dutch Government.
Van den Berg arranged the trip through the Ministry of
Commerce (MOFCOM), which has authority over these
projects in the TAR and said neither the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs nor the TAR Foreign Affairs Office
(FAO), who he speculated would have likely vetoed the
visit, was involved in arranging the trip. Van den
Berg said he won approval based on the Dutch Embassy's
contractual agreement with MOFCOM that a Dutch
diplomat will be allowed to travel to the TAR at least
once a year to inspect the projects. The TAR
Department of Foreign Trade an

d Commerce (DOFTCOM)
hosted him in Lhasa and Shigatse, and Van den Berg
reported he enjoyed a high level of freedom during the
trip. The ethnic Tibetan guide (strictly protect)
DOFTCOM charged with minding Van den Berg was
outspokenly critical of the Government and, rather
than restricting Van den Berg as such handlers usually
do, actively helped him gather sensitive information
on conditions in Lhasa and Shigatse.


3. (C) Van den Berg, who last visited Lhasa in May
2007, said he was struck by the growing rift between
Tibetans and Han Chinese. Unlike during previous
trips, government officials in DOFTCOM and other
agencies made little effort to present a facade of
ethnic harmony. Van den Berg was surprised to hear
Tibetan and Han officials complain openly about each
other in his presence, with Hans describing Tibetan
colleagues as "ungrateful" and "primitive" while
Tibetan cadres denounced the arrogance of Han
colleagues and the "glass ceiling" that prevents
Tibetan civil servants from gaining real authority.

Tibetans Predicting More Violence
--------------


4. (C) Van den Berg said he had extensive discussions
with ordinary Tibetans and Han Chinese in Lhasa. He
described the city as very tense with Hans and
Tibetans largely avoiding one another. Van den Berg
witnessed Han shop owners closing their stores much
earlier than Tibetan-run businesses. Tibetan-owned
shops also continued to display white katas (Tibetan
greeting scarves) on their doors, a sign to would-be
rioters that the shop is Tibetan-owned (reftel).
Several Tibetans, according to Van den Berg, said they
expected violence to erupt during upcoming religious
festivals, such as the August 30 - September 5 Shoton
Festival (Tibetan Yogurt Festival), and especially in
March 2009, which will be the 50th anniversary of the
1959 uprising. Some Tibetans reported to Van den Berg
that they were required to report their activities
daily to security forces. Van den Berg's Lhasa

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contacts also said that Tibetans who receive an
international phone call soon afterward receive a call
from security agents demanding to know the identity of
the foreign caller.

Heavy PLA/PAP Presence in Barkhor
--------------


5. (C) Van den Berg described a near ubiquitous
People's Liberation Army (PLA) and People's Armed
Police (PAP) presence in Lhasa. The Barkhor area
around the Jokhang Temple was "ridiculously
controlled" by PLA and PAP forces with four or more
soldiers standing guard at every intersection. (Note:
Van den Berg said he believed many, if not most, of
the soldiers he saw in Lhasa were PLA. By his own
admission, however, Van den Berg may not be able to
distinguish between various PLA and PAP uniforms.
"Everyone was wearing olive," he said. Van den Berg
also saw Public Security Bureau Officers, including
ethnic Tibetan police, but the PSB was clearly not in
charge of overall security.) During the day PLA/PAP
soldiers did not check identification of people
entering the Barkhor, but ID checks were in place
after 10 pm. While walking in the Barkhor late at
night, Van den Berg saw troops patrolling the streets
in an armored, wheeled "military" vehicle with two
machine guns mounted on top.


6. (C) Despite this heavy security, Van den Berg
commented, "life is continuing" in Lhasa and street
stalls are open around the Jokhang Temple. He
observed that Han tour groups were returning, though
some Han tourists with whom he spoke expressed fear
they might be attacked by Tibetans. Van den Berg
reported a small number of Western tourists in Lhasa.

Dearth of Monks
--------------


7. (C) In addition to the Jokhang Temple, Van den Berg
visited several monasteries, including the Sera
Monastery outside Lhasa. However, the Drepung
Monastery, also near Lhasa, was closed. At all
religious sites, Van den Berg said, he saw some
pilgrims but very few monks. At Khadung Monastery
near Shigatse, Van den Berg was able to speak with the
head monk, but only in the presence of a younger monk
from the monastery's Democratic Management Committee
who interrupted when the conversation veered toward
sensitive topics.

NGO Staff Beaten during Detention
--------------


8. (S) In Lhasa, Van den Berg spoke with two Tibetan
staff members of a U.S. NGO, "The Tibet Poverty
Alleviation Fund" (strictly protect), who were
detained in the wake of the March 14 riots. (Note:
In addition to the USG, the Government of the
Netherlands is one of the Fund's donors.) The two
told Van den Berg they were severely beaten over the
course of several days and that they were transferred
in quick succession to several different prisons,
including a military facility where the beatings were
most severe. The two were eventually freed, but only
after authorities held them for two more weeks so
their bruises would heal and they would bear no marks
of abuse upon release.

EU Trip More Controlled
--------------


9. (C) Also on August 1, PolOff received a briefing
from EU Commission Political Counselor Alexander
McLachlan on the July 19-22 visit to Tibet of EU
Parliamentarian and Former Chairman of the EU
Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Elmar Brok.
(Note: Neither McLachlan nor others from the EU
Mission in Beijing accompanied Brok.) McLachlan
described the trip as "worthwhile," despite the
repetition of standard themes regarding Chinese
sovereignty and the "evil" Dalai Lama. The trip came
in the wake of a series of strongly-worded EU
Parliament resolutions on Tibet as well as an
announcement that the EU President will not attend the

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Olympics, and as such, represented a "positive voice"
to counterbalance otherwise negative publicity,
McLachlan said. The members of the delegation
traveled in a personal capacity rather than as
representatives of the European Union, and were
sponsored by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign
Affairs (CPIFA) as well as by their local Tibetan
host, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Government
Executive Vice Chair Padma Tsele.

United Front Works Department: No Compromise
--------------


10. (C) According to McLachlan, prior to traveling to
Lhasa, Brok met in Beijing with United Front Work
Department Vice Minister Si Ta, who has participated
in recent dialogues with representatives of the Dalai
Lama. Si Ta reportedly stressed the importance of
national and territorial integrity and said that China
has shown great willingness to meet with the Dalai
Lama and has agreed to more contact. Si Ta said that
recent talks focused primarily on the future role of
the Dalai Lama, whom he claimed "does not want a
stable Tibet."

Boilerplate Meetings in the TAR
--------------


11. (C) During Brok's Lhasa meetings, TAR Government
officials and local Tibetologists rehashed standards
points on Chinese sovereignty and the "evil" Dalai
Lama. Lhasa's Public Security Bureau (PSB) chief told
the group that 18 innocent civilians had died during
the violence (Note: which is consistent with some
previously released figures, see reftel), but was
unwilling to give a precise number of people arrested.
The PSB Chief repeated standard points blaming the
riots on "hooligans" and the Dalai Lama.


12. (C) McLachlan said that in all of his meetings,
Brok stressed the need for meaningful dialogue between
China and the Dalai Lama. In addition, he highlighted
what he considered the root causes of the March 14
riots, in particular the poor economic opportunities
for Tibetans who cannot speak Mandarin. This
socioeconomic divide between Han Chinese and many
Tibetans in Tibet, Brok told his TAR interlocutors, is
one of the causes of instability. Despite repeated
efforts to discuss these topics, Brok noted "no
progress" in making his points understood.

Monasteries Still Closed, Few Foreign Tourists
-------------- -


13. (C) The delegation toured a series of Chinese-
funded agricultural and industrial zone development
projects and the Jokhang Temple. TAR authorities,
however, denied Brok's request to visit a teaching
monastery, claiming that they are "all closed." In
contrast to Van den Berg's experience, Brok's
delegation did not observe significant numbers of
troops or riot police. While TAR authorities claimed
that approximately 300 foreign tourists were in Tibet
at the time, the delegation saw no other foreigners.
TAR authorities reported that tourism was down 68
percent compared with 2007.
RANDT