Dalai Lama: China causing 'cultural genocide'

[Dave Monroe]

(CNN) -- The Dalai Lama on Sunday called for an international probe of
China's treatment of Tibet, which he said is causing "cultural
genocide" of his people.

The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet spoke at a news conference Sunday
in Dharamsala, India, two days after violent clashes between
pro-autonomy demonstrators and Chinese security forces in Lhasa, the
Tibetan capital.

A spokesman for the self-declared Tibetan exile government said it has
confirmed at least 80 deaths in Friday's violence and that protests
were continuing outside the capital Sunday, further undermining
China's hopes of a smooth run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Tibet Watch, a group based in Dharamsala, India, said 34 people have
died in the Nwaga County area of Sichuan province in western China.

The dead include women and children, the group said in an e-mail,
adding they were killed by Chinese police attempting to stop the
protests.

Eight bodies were brought to the Nagaba Kirti monastery, the Tibetan
Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Dharamsala said. Of the
eight, two are the bodies of monks, the center said.

The streets of Lhasa were silent and deserted Sunday night, a contrast
to the violent protests of days earlier.

Chinese paramilitary troops and riot police were patrolling, and shots
could be heard from time to time, according to James Miles, a reporter
for The Economist in Lhasa.

"People are now too afraid to come out of their homes," Miles said.
"People are afraid to go about their normal business."

Residents were worried about encountering roving patrols or being shot, he said.

Even if people ventured out to shop, most markets have been ransacked, he said.

"People are going to start running out of food pretty soon. They're
going to need essential supplies," Miles said.

Another protest took place in Machu County in northwestern China,
Tibet Watch said. It was started by Tibetan students distributing
fliers.

They were later joined by monks and laypeople. During the
demonstration, several shops and a security headquarters were burned,
Tibet Watch said. An estimated 2,000 Tibetans were using firecrackers
in the streets, the group said.

The Dalai Lama said China, as the world's most populous nation,
deserves to host the Olympics but it must look seriously at repairing
its human rights record "in order to be a good host."

He laughed at suggestions that the exile government was fueling the
anti-Chinese protests, saying it was the natural result of deep
resentment caused by China's treatment of Tibetans as second-class
citizens in their own land.

The Dalai Lama -- who fled his homeland 29 years ago after a failed
uprising, said Tibet's "ancient cultural heritage" is threatened with
extinction by China.

He said the officials in the Chinese government's local administration
in Tibet were "very, very negative" toward the native Tibetans, which
prevents development of a "harmonious society."

Tibet, he said, is seeking autonomy necessary to safeguard its heritage.

"We are not seeking separation," he said. In fact, he said, Tibet can
enjoy modernization through its connection to China.

China was using force to gain stability and peace, but it would always
be superficial, he said.

True harmony and unity must come from the heart, the Dalai Lama said.

Although Chinese authorities are keeping a tight control over
communications out of Tibet in recent days, the world got a rare live
glimpse Sunday inside Lhasa.

Video showed armed Chinese police, dressed in riot gear, searching
door to door through the Tai Yan Dao section of Lhasa -- near the
Potala Palace. Watch police conduct searches. »

There was no sign of violence between the police or residents.

CNN International's live rebroadcast of the video was not blacked out
by the Chinese government to viewers in that country. The government
sometimes exercises its power to censor CNN's broadcast of stories
sensitive to China by interrupting the broadcast as it is fed into the
country.

The Hong Kong Cable camera appeared to be pointed out a window above
the area being patrolled.

A spokesman for the Tibetan government in exile said Sunday it had
confirmed from "reliable sources" inside Tibet that at least 80 people
were killed during protests Friday in Lhasa. Many others were shot to
death by police in other areas, but the numbers have not been
confirmed, an exile spokesman said.

The exile government said Chinese authorities had effectively imposed
martial law, although it has not been officially declared. Schools,
shops and businesses have been closed, it said.

Home telephones and cell phones have been cut off and the movement of
people is restricted in many parts of Tibet, it said.

"Monasteries have been completely sealed off by [the military] and
remain under extremely strict surveillance," the exiles said. "Monks
are being followed even as they try to move within the compounds of
the monastery."

Still, there were protests going on outside the Tibetan capital, the
exiles said.

More than 200 people protested in Nyangden -- near the Sera Monastery
north of Lhasa -- Sunday, the exiles said.

Police used tear gas against demonstrators who took to the streets of
Kama Kusang, east of Lhasa, on Sunday, they said.

The exile spokesman also said there were major protests at the Labrang
Tashikyil Monastery and at least four people were taken into custody
by Chinese soldiers.

Xinhua, China's official news agency, quoted police in Tibet giving
protesters a deadline of midnight Monday "to stop their criminal
activities and offering leniency to those who surrender themselves."

"Those who surrender and provide information on other lawbreakers will
be exempt from punishment," Xinhua reported the police notice said.

Tibet is one of two provinces in China, along with Xinjiang, where the
Chinese government places restrictions on reporters' access.
Government permission is required for foreign media to enter Tibet and
Xinjiang, and CNN has not received permission to go in.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/16/tibet.unrest/index.html