June 5 – Police in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa were on alert for potential unrest yesterday as Buddhist pilgrims flocked to the city for a traditional religious festival, a local official said.
“The deployment of armed police was increased because of the coming of a religious festival and as a response to some threat remarks made by Tibetan separatists recently,” a government spokesman surnamed Fu told Agence France-Presse by phone.
“Tibetan separatists have said publicly that they were preparing to ‘take some actions.’ We certainly have to increase police deployment in response to ensure people’s safety at the festival.”
June 4, the day when the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests in Beijing were crushed, this year also marks the month-long Saga Dawa festival celebrating the birth of the Buddha in the Tibetan calendar.
