China says Tibet is 'calm'

2008-03-17 07:21

Beijing - Tibet's governor said on Monday that 16 people were killed in violence that broke out in the regional capital, as Chinese troops fanned out to quell protests that have spread to three neighbouring provinces. Exiled Tibetans say as many as 80 people may have died.

Champa Phuntsok gave the official death toll at a news conference called to explain the response to the largest anti-government protests in almost two decades, which have thrown an international spotlight on China's human rights record as it prepares for the Beijing Olympics.

The toll was an update over the government's previous figure of 10 killed.

Champa Phuntsok, an ethnic Tibetan installed as governor by the communist government in Beijing, described 13 of the dead as "innocent civilians", and said another three people died jumping out of buildings to avoid arrest. He said dozens of people were injured.

A week of protests against Chinese rule in Lhasa culminated in violence on Friday when Tibetans attacked ethnic Chinese and torched their shops. Unconfirmed reports from Tibetan exile groups say the violence on Friday and ensuing government crackdown may have left as many as 80 people dead.

'Dalai clique' blamed

The government has said the violence was engineered by the government in exile of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, though it has provided no evidence of that.

"Calm has returned to Lhasa and society has returned to a state of normality," Champa Phuntsok said.

"This was organised, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique and it was created under the collusion of Tibet independence separatist forces both inside and outside China," he said without giving any details.

"Those activities were aimed at splitting the country, were aimed at undermining ethnic community and undermining social harmony and stability in Tibet."

'Frontal assault against thugs'

In a sign of the seriousness of the situation, Tibet's hardline Communist Party secretary Zhang Qingli - the region's most powerful official - returned to Lhasa over the weekend and met with security forces, the official Tibet Daily newspaper said. Zhang had been attending the national legislature's annual session in Beijing, which ends on Tuesday.

The Tibet Daily quoted Zhang as saying security forces "carried out a frontal assault against the thugs" who rioted in Lhasa.

State television broadcast extensive footage of torched buildings and streets strewn with burned and looted goods, underscoring the government's drive to emphasise the destructive nature of the protests without discussing their underlying causes.

Over the weekend, the demonstrations widened from Lhasa to Tibetan communities in Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu provinces, forcing authorities to mobilise security forces across a broad expanse of western China.

Speaking to reporters in India on Sunday, the Dalai Lama reiterated his commitment to non-violence but refused to condemn the protests and called for an international probe into the government crackdown.

- AP