China Accuses Dali Lama Of Taking Olympics Hostage

Things you can't make up:

China accused the Dalai Lama on Sunday of using unrest in Tibet to back demands for Tibetan independence ahead of the August Olympic Games in Beijing.

The verbal attack on the exiled Tibetan leader, accused on Saturday of colluding with Muslim Uighur separatists in China's western Xinjiang region, was part of an intense propaganda and security drive to stifle anti-Chinese unrest before the Games.

Unrest in Tibet began when Buddhist monks demonstrated in the capital, Lhasa, on March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and on subsequent days.

Five days later anti-Chinese rioting shook the city. Chinese authorities said one policeman and 18 civilians were killed.

Anti-government protests then flared in nearby provinces with large ethnic Tibetan populations, leading to violence in which several people were killed and many injured.

In Sichuan, Gansu and other troubled provinces troops continued conspicuously patrolling the streets of Tibetan towns, and kept schools and Buddhist monasteries under tight guard.

Pro Tibetan groups claim that at least 100 people have been killed by the Chinese security forces that have attempted to quash the demonstrations and rioting.

However, for the Chinese to say that the Dali Lama was taking the Olympics hostage is nonsensical. The Chinese anti-Democratic and anti-human rights policies are holding the Chinese people hostage, along with the Tibetans. They're the ones who are not permitting self-determination. The Dali Lama has been calling for peace and nonviolent demonstrations with a move towards autonomous governance, not independence.

The Chinese need a scapegoat for the situation in Tibet, and they are foolish to think that the world is going to somehow blame the Dali Lama for the problems.