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Tibetans rampaged in northern province: govt spokesman
Beijing (AFP) March 19, 2008 Rioters demanding Tibetan independence have attacked government buildings and burnt down shops in northern China's Gansu province in recent days, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday. Xinhua news agency quoted a local government spokesman as discussing the unrest, in what appeared to be the first official reference to violence in provinces adjacent to riot-hit Tibet. Gansu government spokesman Zhang Yusheng said the unrest was coordinated by supporters of the exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to coincide with deadly violence last week in Tibet. "These acts of sabotage were organised and premeditated, and their roots were in the Dalai clique, whose ulterior motive is to create unrest, disturb the Beijing Olympics, destroy the peace and stability and achieve separatism," he said, according to Xinhua. No other details were given. But the spokesman appeared to be referring to protests near the Labrang monastery in the southern part of Gansu that were reported earlier by Tibet activist groups. The protests, involving Tibetan Buddhist monks shouting support for the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence, erupted on Friday, with security forces using tear gas to disperse the biggest rally, activist groups said. The Labrang monastery is one of the largest Buddhist temples outside Tibet's official borders. Gansu is one of several provinces next to Tibet that has a large ethnic Tibetan population, The protests took place as security forces locked down the Tibetan capital of Lhasa following deadly riots on Friday against Chinese rule of the Himalayan region. In dramatic footage by Canadian TV seen on Wednesday, more than 1,000 Tibetans, some on horseback, charged into a remote Chinese town in Gansu, attacking a government building, clashing with soldiers, and hoisting their national flag. It was not immediately clear where the attack took place or when. There has been little information to emerge from Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas of western China, where authorities have clamped down harshly on foreign reporting, stopping journalists from covering protests against Chinese rule. Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
China deploys huge troop numbers to quell unrest: activists
Beijing (AFP) March 19, 2008China has deployed large numbers of troops in its westernmost provinces to suppress Tibetan unrest, a witness and activist groups said Wednesday. |
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