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03/24/2008
Tibet govt-in-exile says about 130 confirmed dead in unrest
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DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — Around 130 people have been confirmed killed in a Chinese crackdown on protests and unrest in Tibet, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile told AFP on Monday.
The new toll is a jump from the figure of 99 confirmed deaths provided by the government-in-exile last week.
"These are not necessarily new casualties. This could be information that we could not get before," Rinpoche said, adding that the numbers also included fatalities from Tibetan areas in provinces such as Gansu and Sichuan.
"We are afraid the number could go up when we get more information from remote areas," he said.
China has released different figures on the number of dead.
On Saturday, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua said Tibetan rioters killed 18 "innocent" civilians and one police officer during protests against Chinese rule in the Himalayan region's capital of Lhasa.
Protests, which began two weeks ago on the anniversary of a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, erupted into deadly violence in Lhasa on March 14.
Riots then spread into other parts of China with significant ethnic Tibetan populations, marking the biggest challenge to Chinese control of the Himalayan region in two decades.
Independent verification of the varying casualty figures has not been possible, with Chinese authorities keeping a tight lid across a huge swathe of riot-hit areas and denying foreign reporters access.
China has accused the "Dalai Lama clique" of orchestrating the violence ahead of the Olympic Games in August. But the Dalai Lama has called Beijing's charges against him "baseless".
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Sunday, where he is holding Buddhist workshops, the Dalai Lama said: "I have always supported that the Olympic Games should take place in China."
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said he opposes violence and that he is not promoting independence but wants greater autonomy for the region. He has also called for an international probe into the unrest.
19:12 Posted in Freedom of expression | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this | Tags: Tibet
Comments
Bush the Manchurian candidate has deliberately laid the country low.
Bush delivered a one two punch. First he sold out our energy
independence to Saudi Arabia. Second he got us in to a protracted
and costly and needless war which necessitated our selling debt
to China. On top of all tha Bush created the largest entitlement
program in history. He has been pissing away our money, our
freedoms and our sovereignty. Even though we were attacked
on Sept 11th by Saudis, Osama is Saudi, and the homicide bombers
in Iraq are Saudis, Bush's only response is to get on his
knees and beg the Saudi princes to have mercy. And now that
China is brutalizing Tibet, Bush who was so quick to
criticize a worthless dictator in Iraq and begin a war
over things such has Hussein's civil right record, is
scared crapless to say "boo" to China. Why? Well the
fall of Bear Stearn nearly toppled the economy. If we threatened
to boycott the Olympics over Tibet, China could threaten to
call in all their markers on our debt. There would
literally be a run on the bank as other nations followed the
Chinese lead, and we would have the great depression. In
my personal opinion Bush and Cheney can assert Mission
Accomplished in two areas. One: their oil and corporate
buddies have record profits. Two: the foreign masters
who have purchased Bush and Cheney's souls have the US on the brink
of ruin. Heckuva job Dubya. In my opinion.
Posted by: poetryman69 | 03/25/2008
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