Journalistic Coverage of 60th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day March 10 was Internationally Thorough

Nyarong Atti fought against Chinese rule but now follows developments in his homeland helplessly from afar

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Every year on 10 March, Nyarong Atti spends the day praying for Tibetans around the world. He offers pujas, or prayers, to those who, like him, fled to India after the People's Liberation Army crushed protesters in Lhasa. The crackdown ended a fledgling rebellion against Chinese rule and sent the Dalai Lama into exile.

Thousands of Tibetans surrounded the Dalai Lama's palace in Lhasa 60 years ago on Sunday, fearing a Chinese plot to kidnap or assassinate the leader. Chinese forces had occupied the Himalayan region nine years earlier and formed an uneasy alliance with the Dalai Lama, but tensions had been building.

By 17 March 1959 Chinese artillery was aimed at the palace, and a few days later troops opened fire, killing thousands. By the end of the month, China had dissolved the Tibetan government and the Dalai Lama had escaped, smuggled out of the city disguised as a Chinese soldier.

For Atti, 87, who was among those fighting against Chinese rule, the anniversary brings a mix of emotions, chief among them anger and sadness.

"Tibet was completely taken over by China and many people died," he says.

Hundreds of supporters of the 14th Dalai Lama surrounded his temple in Dharamsala in India on Sunday, home to his government in exile since 1959.

Supporters elsewhere planned marches to commemorate the failed uprising and call attention to what they describe as a brutal campaign of suppression.

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