Chinese troops have surrounded Lhasa’s monasteries after monks dared to celebrate the anniversary of the 1959 uprising. The mainstream media reports clashes and sporadic gunfire in the streets of the Tibetan capital, and up to 80 monks killed, however details are few. Meanwhile, Regina resident Judith Silverthorne reports by email “all the streets are bare, shops closed, hotel gates locked, etc. and the army is everywhere.” ActUp has posted her emails from Thursday and Friday, and we hope to hear more when she arrives in Chengdu.

Thursday

I tried to send this message to several people, but it’s being blocked, so I’m trying one at a time.

As China bans all news pretty much from outside the country, I am not able to know what’s going on here in Tibet, except for when I bump into someone English speaking in an airport who might have heard something, or from an English tour guide, but even they don’t know much. I cannot get any English news TV in hotels (except for a Chinese filtered one), nor can I access any media on the Internet. So no CNN, CBC, BBC or other news. I can’t even access Wikipedia or my own blogsite.

At any rate, when I arrived a couple of days ago, I came across the article by accident on the Internet (not through a regular source) that mentioned the monk demonstration on March 10, but I wasn’t affected directly by it and saw no concrete evidence of it. However, as I was out touring today, I was told that we can’t get into any monasteries. In fact we tried to get into a temple here in Lhasa today, but couldn’t enter.

Regina’s wealthy awaited the spoils last night as school trustees voted resoundingly against a moratorium on the closure or merger of 14 inner city schools. Older schools are a “drain” on the system, argued Cindy Jarvis, representing the school council of Campbell Collegiate, a large south end Regina collegiate. Jarvis complained that Campbell’s higher socio-economic status was a burden that might cause “prejudice” against the school, and asked when the cost savings from the closures would be transferred over to the remaining schools. She also put in a pitch for more funds, saying Campbell needs a “facelift.” The trustees apparently felt Campbell’s pain; only one, John Conway, voted in favour of the moratorium.

Meanwhile, other presenters voiced their concern over a plan that will put nearly half of Regina’s elementary school population on buses. Parent Leif Caldor noted that the map of closures looks nearly identical to maps depicting low income and aboriginal populations, and criticized the board for their middle-class bias. More to the point, presenter Leslea Mair quoted Buffy St. Marie: “Regina makes me wish I had never been born.”

Noting that the trustees seem firmly set to begin the plan on March 11, RealRenewal, a group opposing the closures, said they will turn their attention toward the province and the polls.