Deaths reported in Tibet protests
Chinese officials deny that police fired on hundreds of demonstrators in Lhasa.
Many casualties
Radio Free Asia, a US-funded broadcaster, had reported that two people were killed in the clashes.
An official with the Lhasa’s emergency medical centre told the AFP news agency: “We are very busy with the injured people now – there are many people injured here.
Your Views |
Could the Tibetan protests derail China’s plans for a smooth run-up to the Beijing Olympics? Advertisement
|
“Definitely some people have died, but I don’t know how many.”
Tourists are reportedly being barred from entering the monasteries.
Peaceful demonstration
Tashi Choephel, a researcher at the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Dharamsala, told Al Jazeera that more than one hundred monks held a peaceful demonstration on Friday.
“But they were then surrounded and cordoned off by the People’s Armed Police [Chinese police] and security officials,” he said.
“Afterwards, a scuffle ensued, and led to the burning of cars and shops.”
Xinhua, the state news agency, said a number of shops, banks and hotels were burnt down, causing blackouts and telecommunications interruptions in some areas.
It said that the regional government “took emergency measures to rescue residents under attack,” including reinforcing the protection of schools, hospitals and gas stations.
Choephel said that demonstrations were also happening in other Tibetan towns.
Hundreds of monks of 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.
Also on Friday, about a dozen Tibetan exiles in India were arrested when they tried to storm the Chinese embassy in New Delhi.
‘Long-simmering resentment’
The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, urged China not to use force against protesters.
About a dozen Tibetan activists were arrested at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi [AFP] |
“I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence.”
The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India after an uprising in 1959, nine years after the invasion of Chinese troops.
This week marks the 49th anniversary of the failed uprising, with protests being held in major Asian capitals.
International response
Sean McCormack, a state department spokesman, said Randt had spoken to Chinese officials.
The latest show of Tibetan defiance is likely to worry China‘s leadership as it seeks to secure a stable environment in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.
Rights groups say the demonstrations are the region’s biggest since Chinese authorities declared martial law to quell a wave of pro-independence demonstrations by monks in 1989.
Earlier this week, 500 monks from the Drepung monastery staged a march in the capital, followed by protests of monks at Lhasa’s Sera and Ganden monasteries.