|
660 surrender in Tibet - China
26/03/2008 11:11 - (SA)
Beijing - China said on Wednesday at least 660 people had surrendered over deadly protests in and near Tibet, as French President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the prospect of boycotting the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.
More than 280 people had given themselves up to authorities following deadly protests in the Tibetan capital Lhasa against Chinese rule, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Meanwhile in Ngawa, a region in Sichuan province in southwest China next to Tibet, 381 people involved in recent clashes had also handed themselves over to police, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported.
"Most of those who have come forward are ordinary people and monks who were deceived or coerced," said Shu Tao, a local Communist Party chief, according to the China Daily.
Lhasa prosecutors had also issued arrest warrants for 29 people allegedly involved in a protest that broke out in the Tibetan capital on March 14, while a "most-wanted" list of 53 people had been issued by police, Xinhua said.
Tibet's government-in-exile has said 140 people had been killed in the unrest over the past two weeks in Tibet and neighbouring areas with large Tibetan populations, while China reported there had been 20 deaths.
The protests against Beijing's rule of Tibet began in Lhasa on March 10 to mark the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule in the region.
But they quickly turned bloody and spilled over into other parts of the country, with the Chinese authorities accused of heavy-handedness in its repression of the demonstrations.
Olympic boycott
The unrest comes at a delicate time for the Chinese authorities with the Beijing Olympic Games less than five months away and the eyes of the world on the booming Asian giant.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday left open the possibility of boycotting the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony over China's crackdown.
Sarkozy, who arrived in Britain for a two-day visit on Wednesday, said "all options are open" regarding a boycott. He appealed to the "sense of responsibility" of China's leaders over the unrest.
The president's aides specified that France was still considering the possibility of snubbing the opening ceremony, but ruled out boycotting the entire Games.
Other countries remained firmly against any boycott, with the White House saying US President George W Bush still planned to be present for the August 8 opening of the Olympics.
|
