(TibetanReview.net, May29’24) — As Tibetans mark a month-long observance of the full-moon day on which the Buddha Shakyamuni was believed to have taken birth, attained enlightenment, and passed away more than 2,500 years ago, Chinese authorities in Tibet’s capital Lhasa have issued fresh orders, strictly banning large sections of the city’s population from engaging in religious activities. Security across the city is said to be greatly tightened throughout the month, but especially on May 22 and 23.
The holy month of Saga Dawa is the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, with the full-moon day falling on May 23 this time. As in past many years, Chinese authorities in the city have instructed Tibetan students, government workers and retirees to refrain from engaging in religious activities throughout the month.
The month traditionally sees Tibetans undertaking religious pilgrimages, fasting, visiting temples, engaging in religious deeds and activities that especially include avoiding meat, giving alms, and undertaking circumambulations along the Lingkhor (the outer circuit) and Barkhor (the inner circuit) streets which encircle the revered Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.
Since the start of Saga Dawa, Chinese police have tightened security around key religious sites, including the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and the Barkhor area, rfa.org May 28 cited local sources as saying.
On the eve of the month’s full-moon day, the holiest day of the holy month, there was heavy police presence around the Barkhor area — the heart of the capital with its famed pilgrimage circuit, RFA cited a video obtained by it as showing.
“There isn’t any place where you don’t see police and interrogation stations,” one of the sources has told RFA, noting that security had been especially heightened on May 23, with police being stationed along the pathways leading to the Sera, Ganden and Drepung monasteries.
Increase was stated to be seen in the number of police checkpoints in and around Lhasa, with the authorities interrogating Tibetans spontaneously. Those without the city resident identity card, called the Shifanting, were reportedly being prevented from visiting temples.
The intrusiveness of the identity checking, resulting in frequent arguments with police personnel, is said to deter or limit many Tibetans from engaging in religious activities.
Besides, facial recognition technology is pervasive at key pilgrimage sites and authorities regularly frisk Tibetans making pilgrimages, the report cited a fourth source as saying.