No simple answers on Tibet

While I have been reading contradictory opinions about what is going on it Tibet, I believe this article from the newspaper Revolution is among the most honest and thoughtful that I have found so far. So I'm posting some of it.

The Protests in Tibet and the Discontent Below

by Li Onesto

Starting March 14, days of protests and rebellion broke out in Tibet against the reactionary Chinese government. It is difficult to get reliable news about these developments because most reports are from the Chinese government or unverified individual accounts. But this appears to be the biggest outbreak of anti-government protests in Tibet in 20 years.This conflict in Tibet is very complex, involving different class forces and interests and different political forces, including religious reactionary groups tied to U.S. imperialism.On the one hand this struggle is about the national oppression of the Tibetan people by a regime that calls itself “socialist” and “communist”—which it is NOT. The Chinese government is reactionary and capitalist. On the other hand, this struggle is taking place against a bigger international backdrop. The United States is aggressively setting out to extend and tighten the global dominance of U.S. imperialism. And Tibet is in a geostrategically important region of the world where there are big stakes for the U.S. in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. The U.S. has a long history of backing reactionary forces in Tibet – the CIA has worked with and directly supported the Dalai Lama. And today, sections of the U.S. ruling class are championing the Dalai Lama and using his movement to try and pressure, destabilize, and even tear China apart because they consider it a long-term strategic, economic, political, and military rival to U.S. global power. Attempts by U.S. imperialism to interfere in Tibet must be opposed.Several reports say things started when hundreds of Buddhist monks began marching from the Drepung Loseling Monastery to the city center in the capital city of Lhasa. They were stopped by the police, and 50 to 60 monks were arrested. Then a sit-down strike was joined by additional monks from Drepung.

For the rest see: http://revcom. us/a/125/tibet-protests-en. html