TIBET: PARAMILITARY PRESENCE IN LHASA NOTED BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 004279 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIFR CH JP SUBJECT: TIBET: PARAMILITARY PRESENCE IN LHASA NOTED BY JAPANESE EMBASSY DURING RECENT TRIP REF: A. CHENGDU 183 ¶B. CHENGDU 184 ¶C. BEIJING 3006 Classified By: Political Internal Unit Chief Dan Kritenbrink. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) A Japanese diplomat who visited Lhasa October 30-November 4 reported that People's Armed Police (PAP) troops continue to patrol the Tibetan quarter of the city, with rooftop lookouts posted around the Jokhang Temple. The diplomat also saw PAP troops inside the Potala Palace. In Lhasa for the first time, the diplomat was struck by the quiet streets and the small numbers of monks at the city's major temples. Foreign tourists were also in short supply. End Summary. BACKGROUND -------------- ¶2. (C) POLOFF met November 18 with Akitsugu Tsuchiya (protect),First Secretary and Police Liaison Officer at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. Tsuchiya and two of his Embassy colleagues visited Lhasa October 30-November 4 to inspect a GOJ aid program at a Lhasa hospital. The Japanese group traveled to Lhasa at the invitation of the PRC Ministry of Commerce, which has oversight over foreign aid projects in China. The group had no official meetings outside of the hospital. PAP ON EVERY CORNER OF TIBET QUARTER -------------- ¶3. (C) A first-time visitor to Lhasa, Tsuchiya reported a highly visible People's Armed Police (PAP) presence in the Tibetan quarter of Lhasa and on many of the city's major intersections. On Barkhor Square in front of the Jokhang Temple, Tsuchiya said he counted a total of ten PAP soldiers patrolling the area in two groups. Four of the ten were armed with "machine guns." On the Barkhor circumambulation route around the Jokhang, Tsuchiya saw an additional two PAP groups, each with six soldiers. Unlike the troops on Barkhor Square, however, the PAP on the circumambulation route were not visibly armed, though Tsuchiya suspected they had side arms under their overcoats. Tsuchiya also spotted three PAP lookout posts on rooftops near the circumambulation route. Along Beijing East Road in the Tibetan quarter, he said, at least five PAP soldiers were stationed at each intersection, and PAP units were also patrolling the area around the Ramoche Temple. PAP TROOPS INSIDE POTALA PALACE -------------- ¶4. (C) Tsuchiya said he saw PAP troops in the courtyard on the upper levels of the Potala Palace. In the palace itself, Tsuchiya reported that individual PAP guards were seated in several of the important religious chambers. These PAP soldiers were not overtly armed, Tsuchiya said. MONKS AND TOURISTS SCARCE -------------- ¶5. (C) Lhasa's streets seemed "very quiet," Tsuchiya commented, with few people out past 11:00 at night. During his stay, Tsuchiya saw only 10 Western tourists. He was also struck by the lack of monks at Jokhang Temple, where he saw just two during his tour, and the Ramoche Temple, where he saw no more than seven. (Note: The Jokhang alone normally has about 100 resident monks.) When the Japanese diplomats asked a hospital official why there were so few monks in Lhasa, the official said the monks were "resting." The diplomats, however, met with a long-term Japanese resident of Lhasa, who said the number of monks in the city dropped suddenly after the March 14 riots and had yet to recover. The same contact, Tsuchiya stated, reported that the Tibet Museum in Lhasa had recently opened a new exhibit about the March 14 unrest, with authorities organizing "field trips" to the exhibit for "all" of Lhasa's elementary and junior high students. ¶6. (C) Aside from the many PAP soldiers, Tsuchiya said he saw few other signs of tension in the city. PAP troops confronted one of the Japanese diplomats after he had taken a picture of PAP standing at an intersection near a television station, but the group's movements otherwise were not controlled by Chinese authorities. Few signs of the March violence were evident except for an occasional unrepaired BEIJING 00004279 002 OF 002 building. Several hotels damaged in the March violence, however, had yet to reopen, Tsuchiya said. COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) Tsuchiya's observations, particularly regarding the continued presence of large numbers of PAP troops and the lack of monks, echo reporting from AmConGen Chengdu following an August visit by four Consulate staff (refs A, B). During that visit, Chinese authorities explained the lack of monks by telling ConGenOffs that the monks were "preparing for an upcoming festival." The Japanese Embassy's description of Lhasa also tracks with a readout provided by the Dutch Embassy following a visit to Lhasa in July (ref C). RANDT