Tibet as to no surprise has been closed for the month of March for the foreign tourists by China in order to isolate it from the rest of the world when the Tibetans commemorate their national uprising day which falls on 10th of March.
This trend of closing Tibet to the foreigner during this month has been a routine occurrence every year since the riots of 2008. Tibetans commemorate the 10th March as their National Uprising Day which started in 1959 when thousands of the Tibetans in Tibet gathered into the city of Lhasa to protect the Dalai Lama when the Tibetans got the heed of Chinese authorities planning to kidnap the young Dalai Lama.
The incident finally turned into a violent clash where the heavily armed Chinese army accounted to the murder of more than 86,000 common Tibetans. This clash was one of the very first common Tibetan people’s extensive protest against the Chinese for Tibet’s independence and this day has been observed as the National Uprising Day Tibetans in the diaspora and inside as well.
In addition to the closure tourism from foreign countries, the Chinese authorities in a bi-lateral meeting with the Nepali government officials, they have demanded them to restrict the Tibetans in Nepal from carrying out any pro-Tibet demonstrations.
The closure of Tibet during the month of March is to contain any information about what is happening inside Tibet during this crucial period from the outside world because the 2008 riots in Lhasa have been witnessed by many foreigners who later recounted the incident to the rest of the world.
Besides, Tibetans peaceful demonstration inside Tibet are also handled violently by the Chinese police and closing Tibet during March is bluntly saying; China trying to hide the real situation of what Tibetans are doing and how Chinese authorities handle with any extend of violence and force required to suppress the Tibetans.