Tibet tensions high as Olympic torch nears Beijing
Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:31am EDT
By Lindsay Beck

BEIJING (Reuters) - Further unrest in Tibet's capital appeared to have been sparked by attempts by police to carry out security checks, indicating the tension and volatility remaining in Lhasa weeks after a deadly anti-government riot.

It was unclear exactly what occurred in Lhasa on Saturday but a mobile text message to residents from police said security checks carried out earlier in the day had "frightened citizens" and caused panic in the city centre.

Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet and Radio Free Asia quoted witnesses as describing people "running in all directions and shouting".

It was not clear if the security check was in response to a protest, or if the check itself caused the panic.

"Severely battle any creation or any spreading of rumours that would upset or frighten people or cause social disorder or illegal criminal behavior that could damage social stability," read the text message, which was reprinted by the Free Tibet Campaign and International Campaign for Tibet.

The fresh tensions come as China prepares to receive the Olympic flame in its capital Beijing on Monday, for the start of a domestic and international relay that the government hoped would symbolize national unity ahead of Games in August.

Instead, China finds itself deflecting criticism over its policies in Tibet and its response to unrest there, and is facing the prospect of weeks of protests as the Olympic flame circles the globe.

EVIDENCE

The unrest began with days of peaceful, monk-led protests in Lhasa that spiraled into a citywide riot on March 14 that the government says killed 18 civilians and was masterminded by the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader.

The Dalai Lama, who fled China in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese Communist rule, denies he is behind the unrest, which his representatives say has claimed 140 lives.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency released on Sunday what it said was evidence given by a suspect in custody for the Lhasa violence that showed the Dalai Lama was behind the unrest.

A meeting of the government-in-exile the day of the riot took a decision to ask monks at monasteries across China to demonstrate and to involve lay Tibetans, and plotted the launch of continuous protests by stages in Tibetan areas, the report said.

Speaking in Laos, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the Lhasa riot was "violent and criminal".

"They have hurt the interests of even Tibetan people," he told Hong Kong television reporters.

"We hope governments everywhere and the media can approach and assess this matter objectively and justly. The Chinese government has the ability to solve this matter," Wen said.

The protests also spread to ethnic Tibetan areas of China.

In Sichuan province's Aba county, where police opened fire on protesters a week ago, 26 suspects were detained for their involvement, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Police seized guns, bullets, explosives and knives in Aba's Kirti monastery, as well as Tibetan flags and banners advocating independence for Tibet, the report said.

The Tibet Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, based in India, gave a different account, saying more than 100 monks from the Kirti monastery were detained and that police raided rooms.

PARAMILITARY PRESENCE

In Gansu province, whose southern, heavily Tibetan areas saw widespread unrest, notices were pasted on walls urging protesters to give themselves up.

The paramilitary People's Armed Police manned frequent checkpoints in the region, armed with riot shields and clubs and bayonets on their rifles, a sign of ongoing tension in the area.

U.S. President George W. Bush has urged China to exercise restraint in its response to the unrest and to meet representatives of the Dalai Lama, against whom Chinese state media has been waging an intense propaganda campaign.

"Dealing with such a person, who can blow hot and cold, the Chinese government has shown the greatest patience," Xinhua said in a commentary on Sunday. "It was the Dalai Lama clique that closed the door of dialogue," it said.

A meeting of European Union foreign ministers also called on Saturday for an end to violence in Tibet and urged dialogue on the region's religious and cultural rights.

But in a joint text, the bloc avoided reference to the Beijing Games, after a week of public differences over whether to boycott the opening ceremony.

(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley in Gansu and Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong; Editing by David Fogarty)