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China wants embassies protected
17/03/2008 18:03 - (SA)
Beijing - China requested on Monday that governments protect its diplomatic missions abroad after pro-Tibetan protesters broke into and smashed its embassies and consulates.
"Tibetan independence forces have used acts of violence to break through police cordons in foreign countries and break into embassies and consulates," foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao told journalists.
"We request the relevant countries proceed from the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations... and take concrete and effective measures to further strengthen the protection of Chinese diplomatic agencies."
Protesters have smashed doors and windows, disrupted working order and undermined the "dignity" of China's overseas missions, Liu said.
Such violence largely came in European nations and the Americas, he said, without citing any specific nation.
Liu's comments came after the Chinese military and police cracked down on the biggest protests in Tibet in 20 years leaving at least 13 dead in the regional capital of Lhasa over the weekend, according to Chinese figures.
Beijing continued to face mounting global pressure over the crackdown amid exiles' claims that hundreds of people may have died in the crackdown, even though Beijing denied using deadly force.
Anti-Chinese, pro-Tibet protests have emerged around the world in support of the Himalayan region, which has been under Chinese control since 1951, leading to the exile of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
"The atrocities of the Tibetan independence forces manifested again the splittist nature of the Dalai clique and the hypocrisy and deceit of its peace and non-violence propaganda," Liu said.
"We express our condemnation of the Tibetan independence forces."
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