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China denies using lethal force in Tibet

Beijing: China on Monday said it had shown “maximum restraint,” and had not used lethal force to quell the fiercest pro-independence protests in two decades in the Tibetan capital Lhasa last week, which claimed at least 13 lives.

Beijing, at the same time, vowed to deal “harshly” with protesters who committed “serious crimes,” as the Monday midnight deadline for rioters to surrender neared, amidst increasing international calls to Beijing, the host of the Olympic Games in August, to exercise restraint.

“We showed maximum restraint. We did not use lethal weapons. No guns were used. We only used teargas and water cannon,” Tibet Autonomous Regional Government Chairman, Governor Qiangba Puncog told a news conference, as he singled out the “Dalai clique” — groups associated with the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama — for the violence.

“We did so in order to maintain social stability, to defend the nation’s legal system and to safeguard the people’s fundamental interests.”

“The ways the mob acted were extremely atrocious and brutal,” he said, citing such reported incidents as dowsing people with gasoline and setting them on fire and cutting off a piece of flesh from a policeman’s body. Sixty-one police personnel were injured, six seriously. Three persons are said to have jumped off buildings as they sought to avoid arrest.

“Thirteen innocent civilians were either hacked or burnt to death,” Mr. Qiangba said, amidst reports that the protests by monks had spilled into neighbouring areas, but the top Tibetan official said he was not aware of it.

He dismissed the higher toll figures of about “35 to 70 to 80 deaths” as baseless.

The Central government had issued instructions to the police to perform their duties in “a civilised manner” and in accordance with the law, Mr. Qiangba said.

Violence broke out in Lhasa on March 14, involving fighting, destruction of property, looting and arson. The riots, which authorities said had been planned and directed by the Dalai Lama’s supporters, had not only caused heavy losses of life and property but also seriously disturbed social order.

Rioters indulged in arson at more than 300 locations, including residences and 214 shops, smashed and burned 56 vehicles, and attacked schools, banks, hospitals, shops, government offices, utilities and state media offices.

The main streets of the ravaged plateau city have been cleared up, power supplies have been restored throughout Lhasa, and shops, government agencies and schools reopened on Monday, officials said.

Reacting to the events in Tibet, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday called on China to open talks with the Dalai Lama.

Ms. Rice renewed a U.S. appeal for China to show restraint, saying there was now a “terrible situation”.

“We have really urged the Chinese over several years to find a way to talk with the Dalai Lama, who is a figure of authority, who is not a separatist, and to find a way to engage him and bring his moral weight to a more sustainable and better solution of the Tibet issue.”

Moscow criticised attempts to “politicise” Beijing’s hosting of the Games.

“We hope that Chinese authorities will take all necessary measures to counter illegal activities and guarantee a rapid normalisation of the situation in the autonomous region,” said a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the Tibet violence “disturbing”.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark urged China to react “carefully and proportionately” to the unrest. — Agencies

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