Sat, Mar 15, 2008 page1

• Tibetan protests claim deadly toll

  • AGENCIES
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  Several people were killed in protests that erupted in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, yesterday, an official with the city's emergency medical center told reporters.

  "We are very busy with the injured people now -- there are many people injured here. Definitely some people have died, but I don't know how many," a female official at the center said by phone.

  Radio Free Asia, citing unnamed witnesses, also reported that at least two people were killed in Lhasa yesterday.

  A Tibetan source said that police had fired live ammunition into a crowd after the demonstrations broke out Friday, the US-based broadcaster said in a dispatch from Nepal, which borders Tibet.

  Japan's Kyodo news agency said rioters had taken control of central Lhasa, quoting a British journalist there. Radio Free Asia said Chinese police fired on rioting Tibetan protesters, killing at least two.

  The demonstrations in Lhasa earlier also spilled into at least one other ethnic Tibetan area of China.

  Hundreds of monks from the Labrang monastery in the northwestern province of Gansu led a march through the town of Xiahe, the Free Tibet Campaign said, citing sources in Dharamsala, home to Tibet's government-in-exile.

  Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks over previous days yesterday gave way to bigger scenes of violence and resentment, testing China's grip months before the Olympics.

  "Now it's very chaotic outside," an ethnic Tibetan resident said by telephone. "People have been burning cars and motorbikes and buses. There is smoke everywhere and they have been throwing rocks and breaking windows. We're scared."

  "It's no longer just the monks. Now they have been joined by lots of residents," another Tibetan said.

  The eruption of anger comes despite China's repeated claims that the Tibetan people are grateful for improved lives and it threatens to stain preparations for the Beijing Olympics with fears of ethnic unrest.

  Chinese rule in Tibet has become a focus for critics in the run-up to the Olympics in August, with global marches this week to mark the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against communist rule spilling into Tibet itself.

  Those marches apparently emboldened Buddhist monks to march down Lhasa's streets, defying a heavy police presence and reports of lockdowns on several monasteries, sources with knowledge of the region said.

  Yesterday, 300 to 400 residents and monks demonstrated in Lhasa, a source cited a witness as saying.

  "Some are angry and some are scared. The security forces are checking houses to see if any monks are hiding," said the source, who is in touch with Tibetan residents.

  More than 10 monks had been arrested and tanks were patrolling the square near the Potala Palace, the source said, referring to one of the architectural wonders of the world once the winter residence of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

  Witnesses said a number of shops were set on fire and report from China's Xinhua news agency said the Tromsikhang Market in central Lhasa was also in flames.

  This week's wave of protests began on Monday, when 500 monks from the Drepung monastery marched in Lhasa. That was followed by action from monks at the Lhasa-area Sera and Ganden monasteries. Security personnel fired tear gas on at least one of the demonstrations, reports said.

  TAIWAN

  The Taiwan Friends of Tibet yesterday condemned the Chinese government's violent crackdown on the protests in Lhasa.

  "We've received phone calls from Lhasa telling us that the Chinese authorities are conducting a house-to-house search after arresting 14 people and that two monks immolated themselves in protest," chairwoman Chow Mei-li (周美里) told the Taipei Times in a telephone interview.

  "They told us that there are Chinese tanks patrolling the streets of Lhasa -- it's like Tiananmen Square all over again," she said.

  "We condemn the Chinese government for their violent crackdown on unarmed monks and civilians," she said. "We also urge the international community and the Taiwanese government to take all measures possible to stop the Chinese government's repression."

  Chow advised anyone with relatives or friends visiting Lhasa to "try to get in touch with[them] to make sure they're safe."

  Britain voiced concern to China yesterday at the outbreak of violence.

  Officials at the Foreign Office in London said they were "following with concern" reports of fires and gunshots in Tibet as well as India and Nepal in recent days and were monitoring the situation closely.

  "We have registered our concern with the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs and the Chinese embassy in London and we are asking them for clarification," a spokeswoman said.

  The Foreign Office said it was keeping its travel advice for British nationals under "close review."

  ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOA IOK-SIN

  Also See: EDITORIAL: Tibet: Now the debacle starts
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