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'Life and death' struggle for Tibet
19/03/2008 07:24 - (SA)
Beijing - China warned of a "life and death" struggle with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, as it sought to end a wave of protests in its Tibetan regions with arrests and tightened political control.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has accused the Tibetan spiritual
leader of masterminding the protests - which culminated in a
riot on Friday in Tibet's capital, Lhasa - from his base in the
Indian town of Dharamsala, where he lives in exile.
"We are in the midst of a fierce struggle involving blood and
fire, a life and death struggle with the Dalai Clique," Tibet's
Communist Party secretary, Zhang Qingli, told a teleconference of
the region's government and Party leaders.
"Leaders of the whole country must deeply understand the
arduousness, complexity and long-term nature of the struggle," he
said in remarks carried online by the China Tibet News.
105 surrender
China's state-run media says 105 people surrendered to police
for taking part in the Lhasa protests after authorities set a
midnight deadline for rioters to turn themselves in over the
violence that the Dalai Lama's officials believe killed 99.
China, whose Communist troops entered Tibet in 1950 after
taking power in Beijing, puts the death toll in Lhasa at 13.
Foreign media are denied access to the area without government
permission, making the competing claims difficult to verify.
China's authorities are keen to stem the violence quickly and
regain stability over the country's remote far-west before the
Olympics, which Beijing will host in August.
But the Olympics also makes China more sensitive to
international opinion over its policies in Tibet and its response
to the unrest, and some activists overseas have demanded that the
mountainous region be withdrawn from the Olympic torch relay that
starts next Monday.
Call for independent monitors
A human rights watchdog called on China to allow independent
monitors to have access to detained Tibetans and said the
government should publish names of those in custody.
"Given the long and well-documented history of torture of
political activists by China's security forces, there is every
reason to fear for the safety of those recently detained," said
Brad Adams, Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch.
"Only by giving access to independent monitors can China give
the world some confidence that detainees are not being tortured
or mistreated," he said in a statement.
The governor of Tibet has said that those who gave themselves
up could be treated leniently, but warned that those who do not
could face harsh treatment.
Zhang also suggested greater political control in the region.
"We must continue to deepen our nationalist education and
practically strengthen the building of political power at the
grassroots," he told the teleconference.
- Reuters
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