‘Damage by Tibet shrine fire more than reported’
BEIJING: Damage caused by the fire at Jokhang temple in Lhasa, one of the most holiest and ancient sites in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), could be more widespread than official reports acknowledge, activists said on Monday. Fire broke out at the temple on Saturday, the second day of the Tibetan New Year, also known as Losar.
Chinese media on Sunday said the fire at Lhasa’s Jokhang temple, a site many Tibetans revere as the most sacred, has been put out and areas around it have been opened after a temporary closure. “A fire broke out at Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, on Saturday. The incident took place at around 6 pm local time and the blaze has been put out. The authorities said there are no casualties and the cause of the fire remains unclear,” China’s broadcaster China Central Television said in a brief report.
The statement comes amid concerns that the 1,300-year old temple, a UNESCO world heritage site that houses cultural treasures sacred to Tibetans, was badly damaged in a fire that engulfed large parts of it. “There are fears that the damage may be more widespread than the authorities acknowledge,” the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said in a statement.
“The fire apparently began in a building near the Jokhang, with some sources saying this was the Meru Nyingpa monastery in the alley ways of the Barkhor, and then spread. One source in touch with an eyewitness said that several buildings nearby had been burnt to the ground, although that could not be confirmed,” the ICT statement said.
“The Chinese authorities took several hours to confirm the fire at the Jokhang, a UNESCO World Heritage site,” ICT’s Kate Saunders said.