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US 'concerned' about prison terms for Tibet protesters
Washington (AFP) April 30, 2008 The United States said Wednesday it was "concerned" about reports that China has sentenced 30 people to between three years and life in prison for their role over last month's Tibetan unrest. "We have seen the reports. We are concerned. We don't think that anyone should break the law, but we also believe in freedom of expression and assembly," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. Perino also renewed Washington's appeals for Beijing to open talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama spiritual leader over the situation in his homeland of Tibet, saying he might be able to "calm the tensions" there. "We are encouraged the Chinese have said that they would open up a dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives, we hope that those conversations are productive," said the spokeswoman. "We think that it is in China's interest that they continue to have those, because the Dalai Lama is a man of peace and someone that, I think, that if they were open to, could help calm the tensions in the area," she said. China jailed 30 people on Tuesday for between three years and life for taking part in last month's unrest, state-run Xinhua news agency reported earlier, describing the proceedings as "public" trials. The sentences drew immediate condemnation from Human Rights Watch. "Guilty or innocent, these Tibetans are entitled to a fair trial. Instead, they were tried on secret evidence behind closed doors and without the benefit of a meaningful defense by lawyers they'd chosen," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director for the group. Protests that began on March 10 in Lhasa to mark the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against China's rule of Tibet later escalated into violent rioting across the city and the Tibetan plateau. Human Rights Watch cited "severe flaws" in the Tibet regional authorities' handling of the protests, which the group said precluded fair trials. They included the secrecy of the proceedings, failure by authorities to distinguish between peaceful and violent protests, and official statements at the time of the suspects' arrest that assumed their guilt rather than their innocence, it said. Tibet's government-in-exile says more than 200 people have been killed in a huge Chinese military and police crackdown on the protests. Chinese authorities have acknowledged killing only one Tibetan in the crackdown -- a man shot by police trying to arrest him on Monday -- and have blamed Tibetan "rioters" for the deaths of about 20 people. Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
More than 100 pro-Tibet protestors held in Nepal: official
Kathmandu (AFP) April 29, 2008Some 114 pro-Tibet demonstrators were detained in Nepal's capital Tuesday as they tried to protest outside a Chinese embassy building, police said. |
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