RIOTING HAS erupted in two provinces neighbouring Tibet over the weekend, two days after violent protests by Tibetans against Chinese rule in Lhasa killed at least 80 people, according to the region's exiled representatives.
The protests in Gansu and Sichuan came as the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, called from exile in India for an investigation into whether cultural genocide was taking place.
"The Tibet nation is facing serious danger. Whether China's government admits or not, there is a problem," the Dalai Lama, reviled by Beijing as a separatist, told reporters in Dharamsala.
Meanwhile, anti-riot troops locked down Tibet's capital Lhasa, already barred to journalists, to prevent a repeat of Friday's violence, the most serious in nearly two decades.
"They've gone crazy," a police officer in Aba county, Sichuan, one of four provinces with large Tibetan populations, told Reuters, her voice trembling down the phone as the main government building there came under siege.
The officer, who declined to be named, said a crowd hurled petrol bombs, burning down a police station and a market, and set fire to two police cars and a fire truck.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said monks of the Amdo Ngaba Kirti monastery, also in Aba prefecture, had raised the banned Tibetan flag and shouted pro-independence slogans after prayers on Sunday. Chinese security forces stormed the monastery, fired tear gas and prevented the monks from taking to the streets, it said.
In Labrang, called Xiahe in Chinese, four monks were shot dead on Saturday. The stand-off between Tibetan Buddhists and Chinese riot police took place after a vigil around a stupa at Labrang to show solidarity with the exiled Dalai Lama.
The 1,200 monks in Labrang are mostly novices and are clearly ready for a fight. There was trouble here in October, when police cracked down on monks celebrating the award of the US Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama. They make no secret of their love for their god king and their willingness to fight for Tibetan independence. Later in the day, as crowds of pilgrims in traditional Tibetan costume and the red-robed monks shuffled towards Labrang monastery, four shaven-headed teenage monks broke off from the group to approach journalists.
"There was a lot of trouble, big fights. Lots of people, lots of police. We're going back down today," says the smallest of the group, grimly relishing the battle.
At a bridge leading to the 18th century monastery at the town's heart, 120 armed militia in dark-green body armour lined up, four abreast on each side of the bridge.
A young monk approached, checking to see if he was out of sight of a police car at the bottom of the street. "Four people were shot dead by the police," he said, crossing his arms across his heart and rolling his eyes. "There was lots of trouble yesterday, and I'm going back there right now. I have to go."
The protests are taking place just five months before the Olympic Games in Beijing, which Tibetan independence activists intend to use as a platform. Beijing, however, is determined not to let the unrest affect the games. "Anyone who wants to sabotage the games will get nowhere," said Beijing's top official in Tibet, Qiangba Puncog.
The riots mark the most significant unrest in Tibet since the late 1980s, when martial law was imposed.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, in Argentina for St Patrick's Day, has instructed his officials to meet diplomats at the Chinese embassy in Dublin today over the situation in Tibet, writes Olivia Kelly.
"The Minister has instructed his officials in Dublin to raise the developments in Tibet directly with the Chinese embassy in Dublin and convey the Government's concerns in relation to the situation. The Minister echoed the call of the European Council last Friday in asking the Chinese government to show restraint," a spokesman for Mr Ahern said.
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