China has stepped up attacks on the Dalai Lama, criticising him for abusing religion, stirring protests in Tibet and preparing for independence as the Olympic flame arrived in Beijing today under tight security.
A torchbearer holds the Olympic flame on its arrival at Beijing airport today Photo: Reuters
The scorn aimed at Tibet's exiled spiritual leader appears to indicate Beijing is digging in its heels in the face of mounting pressure from abroad to engage in dialogue with the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
That pressure follows more than two weeks of protests and suppression in Tibetan-populated parts of China.
A report by Xinhua, China's official news agency, said the government had evidence the Dalai Lama and his supporters had planned the rash of anti-Chinese unrest across the Himalayan region and nearby areas this month. The Dalai Lama's office rejected the claim today and called on China to allow in international investigators.
"The self-proclaimed spiritual leader has obviously forgotten his identity, abused his religion and played too much politics," Xinhua said, adding he was building a "pro-independence infrastructure".
A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman denied what it said was a statement from the Dalai Lama that soldiers posing as monks had instigated the Lhasa violence. But the Dalai Lama's office also denied this.
"What we can confirm at this point is we've received reports of Chinese dressing up as monks -- not instigating (the violence), but assisting in the security clampdown," Tenzin Taklha, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama, said by telephone from Dharamsala in northern India.
Several foreign leaders, including US President George W. Bush, have urged Beijing to talk to the Dalai Lama's envoys to resolve the issue.
China has said it would only do so if he rejected independence for Tibet and Taiwan and used his influence to end the ongoing unrest.
Meanwhile, protests continued elsewhere. In Nepal's capital Kathmandu, police beat pro-Tibet protesters with sticks today and detained more than 280 people for demonstrating against China, police and officials said, hinting at a bigger crackdown on protesters.
Hundreds of Tibetans split up into small groups and tried to storm a Chinese consular office from different directions in the Nepali capital. In the Indonesian capital Jakarta, about 70 people, including Buddhist monks, rallied in front of Chinese embassy pressing for freedom in Tibet.
Days of monk-led marches in Tibet's capital Lhasa turned into a citywide riot on March 14th in which Chinese shops were looted and burned and cars overturned.
The government says the violence killed 18 civilians and at least one police officer. After the Lhasa riot, China ordered tens of thousands of troops into Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas of neighbouring provinces to quash further protests.
Rights groups and Tibet activists abroad fear widespread detentions and abuse. China has banned foreign reporters from travelling independently to Tibet and Tibetan-populated parts of western China, making it difficult to verify claims.
Chinese TV and news reports have focused on the Lhasa mob brutality, but have avoided addressing questions about what lay behind the rampage and other protests. Instead, the government has blamed the Dalai Lama and his supporters for trying to disrupt the Olympics.
Dalai Lama spokesman Tenzin Taklha said China's claim it has evidence of the monk's complicity in the Tibet protests was unfounded.
Many Chinese, taking a cue from the government, have criticised foreign media for anti-China bias. Since March 21st, CNN's Beijing bureau has received upwards of 100 calls and faxes per day, including demands that the correspondents leave China, a staff member said anonymously.