More Protests over Chinese Treatment of Tibet

China recently made what many observers have called a very heavy handed response to anti-Chinese rioting in Tibet's capital Lhasa, bringing many deaths, many injuries, 600 arrests, and a virtual travel and news blackout. Combined with the Chinese plan to carry the Olympic torch across Tibet (including to the summit of Mt. Everest), the flood of Chinese troops into Tibet has spurred the hundreds of "pro-Tibet" and "free-Tibet" groups around the world to plan protests in conjunction with the Olympic torch events.

Tibetan activists in a protest in Dharamsala, India, on Tuesday timed to coincide with the Olympic torch relay event. Manan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

Sponsors of the round the world torch bearing (Coca-Cola, Chinese pc maker Lenovo, and Samsung Electronics) are now facing a potential public relations nightmare.

Tibetans were back on the road on Tuesday, marching in protest from Dharamsala, in northern India, toward Lhasa in Tibet, despite an order by India to halt. Manan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

For a summary of the issues and events, see Heather Timmon's article in today's New York Times article here. For observations on the closure of the Tibetan border, see Jake Hooker's article in the NYT from March 26th here. Heather's earlier article about a hundred Tibetan exiles on a six-month protest march to their homeland may also be of interest.