Large fire damaged Jokhang temple in holiest & sensitive site in Tibet
According to sources China’s Communist party controlled news agency, Xinhua, stated that the blaze started early on Saturday evening “and was soon put out”. However, Robert Barnett, a London based expert on contemporary Tibet, said Beijing’s “almost total suppression of information” about the incident meant many Tibetans feared “the heart of Tibetan Buddhism" had suffered significant damage.
Sources have stated that for almost four hours after the fire began, he said, it was not even acknowledged by China’s heavily controlled media, “even though you could see it from miles away across the whole city”. Meanwhile this has increased the fear of people that something really serious has happened,” said Barnett, the author of a book about Tibet’s ancient capital called Lhasa and “People are hugely concerned, rightly or wrongly, that the damage might be much more severe than the media is letting on.”
Furthermore Barnett predicted China’s bid to
suppress news of the blaze by censoring online posts and forbidding locals to
broadcast images of the fire or gather near the temple would further hurt
relations with Tibetans. “It has re-stimulated the dominant tone in Tibet
which is intimidation really.”