Agencies
Dharmsala, Mar 15:
Tibet's main exile group, quoting unconfirmed sources, claimed on Saturday that Chinese police have killed about 100 Tibetan demonstrators and injured many more during protests against Chinese rule.
The Tibetan government in exile, based in Dharmsala in India, offered no details in its statement, and gave no details on its sources.
Protests by Buddhist monks in Tibet have turned violent in recent days, with shops and vehicles set on fire and gunshots fired in the streets of the region's capital, Lhasa; but independently verified details remain extremely slim. China maintains rigid control over the area, foreigners need special travel permits to get there and journalists rarely get access except under highly controlled circumstances.
Earlier reports have given lower death tolls. China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that 10 people had been killed. Thirty people have been killed in clashes between Chinese authorities and Tibetan protesters, the Tibetan government-in-exile said on Saturday.
"We have confirmed 30 ... This information is based on calls from Tibetans to the outside world," Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the government-in-exile, told a news agency from his office in northern India.
Samphel said protests had spread outside Lhasa but gave no details.
China set a "surrender deadline", confirmed the death of 10 people and showed the first extensive television footage of rioting in Lhasa on Saturday, launching a crackdown after the worst unrest in Tibet for two decades. The response came following torrid protests on Friday which flew in the face of official claims that the region was immune from unrest as Beijing readies to hold the Olympic Games in August.
Xinhua news agency said 10 "innocent civilians" burnt to death in fires that accompanied bitter street clashes in the remote, mountain capital on Friday. It said no foreigners died but gave few other details, and the report could not be verified.
End use of `brute force` in Tibet
New Delhi: With situation in Tibet turning volatile, its spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has asked the Chinese leadership to stop using "brute force" and hold dialogue to address the "long-simmering resentment" of the people there.
"I am deeply concerned over the situation that has been developing in Tibet following peaceful protests in many parts of Tibet, including Lhasa, in recent days," he said in a statement as clashes were reported from Tibet, including its capital Lhasa, in which 10 people have died so far.
He said the protests are a manifestation of the "deep-rooted resentment" of the Tibetan people under the "present governance" back home.
Contending that unity and stability under "brute force is at best a temporary solution", the Dalai Lama said "it is unrealistic to expect unity and stability under such a rule and would therefore not be conducive to finding a peaceful and lasting solution."
He appealed to the Chinese leadership to "stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people."
`India watching situation in Tibet'
Chandigarh: As Tibet got engulfed in widespread violence following anti-China protests, India on Saturday said it was watching the situation and the government is expected to come out with its views on the developments in a day or two.
"We are watching the situation (in Tibet)," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters here on the sidelines of a conference when asked about the developments in the Himalayan region. Since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was out of New Delhi on Friday, the issue could not be discussed, Mukherjee said, adding, "We will respond in a day or two."
Violence erupted in Lhasa on Friday when protesters led by Buddhist monks clashed with Chinese troops and burnt vehicles and shops in the biggest and angriest demonstrations in two decades against the Chinese rule. Ten people have died in the violence.
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