12 May 2008
Quake in Tibetan areas, restrictions still in place
(BBC; CTA; ICT; Kham Aid; NYT; TibetInfoNet; Xinhua) An earthquake that measured 7.9 on the Richter scale struck Sichuan province, killing over 60,000 people (with over 20,000 missing) according to official sources. The epicentre of the earthquake was in Lunggu county (Chin: Wenchuan), Ngaba TAP (Ch: Aba), in the area traditionally known to Tibetans as Kham. The earthquake caused enormous infrastructure damage, with collapsed buildings and blocked roads hampering the rescue effort. Damage has been reported across several provinces, including Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Shanxi, Guizhou and Hubei. The Tibetan areas affected were: Lungu county, Tashiling county (Chin: Lixian), Sungchu county (Chin: Song Pan), Trochu county (Chin: Heishui) and Maowun county (Ch: Maoxian). Details about deaths and damage from the quake in Tibetan areas are scant. Six deaths were reported on the first day from Dartsedo (Chin: Kanding), all due to rocks falling into a narrow valley. Initial, unconfirmed estimates put casualty numbers at 100 to 150. As a whole, due to the specific geophysical conditions and sparse population in these areas, the death toll should be far lower than in Chinese areas. The damage to buildings and roads, although yet to be assessed, could be substantial. Demonstrations against Beijing’s Tibet policy had been held in some of these areas since March. In official statements made after the quake, local officials stressed the importance of maintaining a robust stance on 'anti-separatism' and keeping security check-posts in areas manned in addition to disaster relief work. The NGO Kham Aid reported: "One reason that news from earthquake-affected Tibetan areas has been scant is that, since the unrest in March, there have been no tourists at all in these regions". On the day the earthquake struck, the Ngaba authorities issued a document entitled: "Combining work on anti-separatism and safeguarding stability with disaster relief work". The Kardze prefectural government also issued an emergency announcement to "conscientiously carry out the present task of keeping stability". The authorities in Rongtrag/Tenpa county (Chin: Danba) in Kardze issued a six-point announcement, including the requirement for security personnel and police manning checkpoints on roads out of the prefecture "to stick to their posts, and not to slacken any aspect of the tasks. They should strictly guard against the separatist forces taking advantage of the situation to cause sabotage, strictly prevent people from spreading rumours and stirring up trouble". CCTV news bulletins in English warned that those who were found "spreading rumours" about the authorities' response to the earthquake would be "dealt with harshly according to the law".