Zeku is also currently brimming over with heavily armed representatives of the law. Two weeks ago, when the unrest flared up in Tibet, the Tibetans here suddenly started walking up and down the main street for hours on end, silently and peacefully, until paramilitary police arrived on the scene and dispersed the crowd.
A few days before the protest, most of the Muslims left town, says a young Tibetan. Apparently, they had gotten wind of the planned Tibetan demonstrations. “We hate the Muslims,” he says, “They cheat us and sell us poisoned food.”