Interesting and shocking comments by Tibetans over on RFA Unplugged via the RFA Mandarin and Tibetan services:

Lhasa eyewitnesses analyze the protests

When I arrived at the Lhasa City People’s Hospital, I saw three Tibetans being brought in. One of the injured was Tenzin Norbu from Kham Pelbar. His sister brought him in, and I recognized him. He had been shot in the head, and the hospital suggested that he should be taken to the TAR People’s Hospital. He was vomiting and may not have survived. That boy was very young—about 21 or 22—and according to his sister he was a student in a school just below Sera monastery. Another youth had also been shot in the head. He was bleeding heavily, and there was little hope for his survival. Another Tibetan youth had been hit in the hip and had about four bullet wounds.

Since we cannot move freely and our lines of communication are cut, it is very difficult for me to give you any details or comprehensive information. However, in our area, the Chinese crackdown and restrictions on monks and Tibetan youths and students have been shockingly rigid and ruthless. Monks are being ostracized, and the police look on them as objects of hatred. The situation is extremely tense. All Tibetan monks and students, regardless of their participation or non-involvement in the protests, are being treated as suspects.

Interview with a Qinghai Tibetan youth

RFA: Why did some Tibetan herdsmen or lamas commit, according to the Chinese authorities, looting and arsons?

Tibetan: In the beginning there might be some people from the Dalai Lama (coming to Tibet), but we don’t know.

They wanted to demonstrate. Afterwards, the simple-minded herdsmen who know nothing got agitated. They revere the Dalai Lama so deeply, and so they believe in [the rumor] that the Dalai Lama wants them to do this. Some say other Tibetans threw stones so they threw, too. In fact many of the herdsmen are doing this without any clear thought whatsoever.

RFA: You mean the herdsmen heard, including the official reports, that the Dalai Lama was calling for this, so they were galvanized?

Tibetan: I think so. I think among the rioters there must be someone from the Dalai Lama or overseas Tibetan independence groups crossing into Tibet to agitate riots. As a result, people gathered more and more, and riots started. When troops and police went to control there were clashes, beginning smashing and looting, etc. After the first day (March 14) riot, Qinghai and Gansu heard the news that there were riots in Tibet. I think they felt that if we don’t act too, some people feel we might lose face. In fact many people were thinking there was smashing over there (in Lhasa), so we should smash, too, and then some began to move on. Why did they do this? I don’t think they clearly thought about their actions. After the violence, they got arrested, and regretted it. But it was too late.

RFA: As a Tibetan living in China, what do you wish for your life? Do you hope for any changes?

Tibetan: I only speak for myself. Um, it is hard for me to make comments on independence. I hope for a genuine autonomy. Only this. Only if we have genuine autonomy, minority culture [Tibetan culture] could be well developed. For example, like the case of Inner Mongolia, [where the Mongolian language is respected and well-used]. I wish all employees in my town could understand the Tibetan language, that it was compulsory to learn Tibetan. If the current situation continues, there will be fewer and fewer students who want to study Tibetan because it is not widely used.