Exiled government says Tibetan unrest claimed 203 lives

The number of people killed in a Chinese crackdown on protests and unrest in Tibet has risen by around 50 to 203, the Tibetan government-in-exile said yesterday, as Chinese media reported that 17 people had been sent to prison for their role in last month’s unrest.

Around 1,000 people had been hurt and 5,715 arrested since the demonstrations began on March 10, according to figures that the government based in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala said had been extensively cross-checked.

“Peaceful Tibetan protesters were provoked” by the Chinese forces into committing acts of violence, a spokesman for the government-in-exile told a news conference, adding that “some Chinese-planted agents themselves started the riots that left some Chinese dead.”

“The Tibetan protests were aimed at the wrong policies of the Chinese government in Tibet, not the Chinese people. It is unfortunate some innocent common people died during the unrest,” Tibetan government spokesman Thubten Samphel said.

Tourists have reported that during the unrest, mobs beat ethnic Chinese whose arrival in the region has been blamed by Tibetans for altering its unique way of life.

China says it has killed no one, and has blamed Tibetan “rioters” for the deaths of 20 people.

The figures were compiled from six different sources, including Chinadigitaltimes.net, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, China’s state media, Lhasa Radio and Radio Free Asia.

Meanwhile, 17 people were yesterday jailed for between three years and life for their involvement in violence on March 14 in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, the Xinhua news agency said, announcing the first verdicts for anyone connected with the unrest that has embarrassed and angered China ahead of the Olympics.

A court in Lhasa handed down the verdicts yesterday, Xinhua said.

When contacted by reporters to confirm the report, an official at the Lhasa court said the verdicts were to be announced later yesterday.

Chinese authorities said “rioters” killed 18 innocent civilians and one policeman in Lhasa on March 14, while another police officer was killed when protests spread to other parts of China with Tibetan populations.



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