Yahoo – AFP, Ludovic Ehret, September 22, 2016
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| Pilgrims spin their prayer wheels outside the Jokhang Temple in the regional capital Lhasa, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region (AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele) |
The sun has
yet to rise over Lhasa, but dozens of colourfully dressed pilgrims are already
gathered and reciting prayers at the entrance to Jokhang, the most sacred
temple in Tibetan Buddhism.
Many of
those gathered -- Tibetans and Han Chinese visitors -- say religion is
flourishing under Beijing's rule, with adherents enjoying the freedoms they
need to follow their faith.
But this
sense of freedom does not extend to the men who live inside the monasteries,
analysts and monks say.
Their lives
and their movements are heavily regulated by a government eager to avoid any
hint of disobedience in the restive region which, although technically
autonomous, is tightly controlled by Beijing.
"We
are not free," said a 33-year-old monk from the neighbouring province of
Sichuan. AFP is not naming the man.
"To
get into Tibet from another province, you need a certificate with your name,
address and identity card number.
"Everything
has to be stamped by the monastery, the Bureau of Religious Affairs and the
police," he said outside the Jokhang monastery.
Nearby,
groups of policemen -- some from Tibet itself -- are discreetly patrolling,
some holding walkie-talkies and others guns.
 |
A monk is
seen outside the Jokhang Temple in the regional capital Lhasa, in
China's Tibet
Autonomous Region (AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)
|
This area
of the capital is calm for now, but authorities are not taking any chances. In
2008 it was the site of deadly riots which erupted following protests by monks
against Beijing's rule in the region.
The
government clamped down after a period of violence against non-Tibetans, in
particular the Han Chinese -- who remain a minority in Tibet.
Faith is an
integral element of Tibetan identity and nationalism and is therefore perceived
as a potential threat to the authority of the Chinese state, explained Kate
Saunders of the US-based NGO International Campaign for Tibet.
'Keep
your mouth shut'
Some
ordinary Tibetans dismiss the idea their religious freedom is being curtailed.
"I
come here morning and night. I have never had any problem," the
31-year-old Tibetan taxi driver Zangmai says at the temple.
"I've
been praying here since I was about five or six, and one day I'll bring my son
here too," he adds as he throws dried grass into a large incense burner,
which belches out grey smoke.
For Zhaxi
Nima, a 37-year-old Tibetan pilgrim whose left leg is amputated below the knee,
faith remains an integral part of his routine.
 |
A pilgrim
(L) is seen walking past a paramilitary police patrol outside the Jokhang
Temple, in the regional capital Lhasa, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region (AFP
Photo/Johannes Eisele)
|
"Why
do I come to pray, despite my handicap? Tibetans are just like that, it's our
way of life," he explains.
It is not
so simple for religious figures and institutions, experts say.
"Temples,
monasteries... Of course, they are controlled," said Jens-Uwe Hartmann, a
specialist in Buddhism at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and an expert
on Tibet.
"What
they are doing is very closely observed."
If
religious leaders emerge who are not approved by the Chinese Communist Party,
they simply disappear, Hartmann said, adding: "So you'd better keep your
mouth shut."
Cultural
dilution
Beijing
says it "peacefully liberated" Tibet in 1951 and insists it has
brought development to a previously backward region.
But many
Tibetans accuse the Chinese government of exploiting natural resources, as well
as promoting Han activities and business at the expense of locals and the
environment.
They also
accuse authorities of diluting their culture and faith as a way of exerting
further influence.
China
recently unveiled an initiative to get tens of millions more tourists to visit
the region, and many of them wander through Jokhang along with the faithful.
Barkhor,
the road around the temple that pilgrims walk in a clockwise direction as a
sign of respect, displays little Chinese flags on the first floor of buildings.
The street is dotted with shops and restaurants to cater to visitors from other
regions.
 |
Faith is an
integral element of Tibetan identity and nationalism (AFP Photo/
Johannes
Eisele)
|
"People's
faith here is very impressive. It's not something you see anywhere else in
China," says 22-year-old Peng Meng.
"In
the rest of China, because of the Party, countless temples were
destroyed," says a young Han, miming a fist coming down on a building.
"In
Tibet, Buddhism is preserved," he adds, although many religious structures
were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.
Wang
Xiaobin of the China Tibetology Research Center, an official body based in
Beijing, said monks were required to use travel certificates after a wave of
self-immolation which began in 2009.
A total of
145 Tibetans, the majority of them monks, have set fire to themselves in the
past seven years in protest against Beijing's rule and 117 of them have died,
according to International Campaign for Tibet.
"Most
of them came from Tibet's neighbouring provinces. And the regional government
is worried that some of them are coming to self-immolate in Lhasa," Wang
said.
"China
recognises 'freedom of religious belief', not 'religious freedom'. Those
are different things," he added.
"Clearly
one has the right to believe, but there are limits to religious activity."
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