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INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 3381
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 1387
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RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
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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 and 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 
 
BEIJING 00003006  002 OF 003 
 
 
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 
 
BEIJING 00003006  003 OF 003 
 
 
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