Report: Two dead as Tibet protests turn violent
Chinese police 'open fire on crowds' during march led by monks in Lhasa
Tibetans throw stones at Chinese army vehicles in the streets of Lhasa after riots broke out on Friday.
View related photos
Dai Kurokawa / AFP - Getty Images
World Blog: Beijing, China
MSNBC News Services
updated 3 minutes ago
BEIJING - At least people were killed in rioting between Tibetans and Chinese security forces in Lhasa on Friday, according to a report.
U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia said troops using both live ammunition and tear gas fired on crowds torching vehicles and Chinese-owned shops in the center of the ancient capital as protests led by Buddhist monks turned violent.
The U.S. State Department urged Chinese leaders to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader. The European Union also called on China to show restraint.
Story continues below ↓
Witnesses reported hearing gunfire and seeing vehicles in flames in the city's main Barkor shopping district in the center of Lhasa. Crowds hurled rocks at security forces and at restaurant and hotel windows.
'Chaos everywhere'
"It was chaos everywhere. I could see fires, smoke, cars and motorcycles burning," said a Tibetan guide who spoke on condition his name not be used, fearing retaliation by authorities. He said the whole road in the main Barkor shopping area surrounding the Jokhang temple "seemed to be on fire."
The guide said armed police in riot gear backed by armored vehicles were blocking major intersections in the city center, along with the broad square in front of the Potala, the former winter home of the Dalai Lama.
"As I approached Potala Square, I heard cannon fire, louder than rifles. Others told me police were firing tear gas along Beijing Zhonglu, west of the Potala," he said.
Dalai Lama demands end to 'brute force'
The Dalai Lama appealed to the Chinese leadership on Friday to stop using "brute force" against Tibetan protesters.
"These protests are a manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment of the Tibetan people under the present governance," he said in a statement. "I therefore appeal to the Chinese leadership to stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people."
The largest demonstrations in nearly two decades against Beijing's 57-year-rule over Tibet come at a critically sensitive time for China as it attempts to portray a unified and prosperous nation ahead of the Olympic Games in August.
The protests that began on Monday's anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule were initially led by hundreds of Buddhist monks -- but then attracted large numbers of ordinary Tibetans. They were also spreading to Tibetan areas outside Lhasa, a city of about 250,000 permanent residents, not including large numbers of soldiers and members of the paramilitary People's Armed Police.
Up to 400 protesters, including students, had gathered around a market near the Jokhang temple early on Friday and were confronted by about 1,000 police, according to a witness cited by Matt Whitticase of the Free Tibet Campaign in London.
Four police were injured, and another protest break out near the Potala Palace, Whitticase added.
Shops were set on fire along two main streets surrounding the Jokhang temple, Ramoche monastery, and the city's main Chomsigkang market, sending out heavy smoke.
A Western traveler using the name "John" told BBC World television that police had attacked monks near monasteries and said he saw military convoys moving into Lhasa carrying heavily armed troops.
In a terse report, China's official Xinhua News Agency said people had been hospitalized with injuries and vehicles and shops torched, but gave few details.
Tensions in the Tibetan capital have risen in recent days as the city's three biggest monasteries were sealed off by thousands of soldiers and police in a government crackdown, the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia reported Friday.
Americans told to avoid city
The U.S. Embassy e-mailed an advisory to Americans warning them to stay away from Lhasa. The embassy said it had "received firsthand reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other indications of violence."In Washington, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, "Beijing needs to respect Tibetan culture. Needs to respect multi-ethnicity in their society. We regret the tensions between the ethnic groups and Beijing. The president has said consistently that Beijing needs to have a dialogue with the Dalai Lama."
Story continues below ↓
European Union leaders appealed to China to show restraint, and France's foreign minister said Paris was keeping its options open on whether to take further measures, possibly relating to the Olympics.
Hotels in Lhasa were placed under lockdown at noon, said a hotel worker in the city.
"No one has been allowed to leave the hostel, as protesters on Beijing Dong Road have turned violent ... we can hear shouting and a loud commotion outside, but cannot even look outside the windows to see what is happening outside, because they will throw rocks at us if they see us," said the worker, who did not want her name used or her hotel identified for fear of harassment by authorities.
It is extremely difficult to get independent verification of events in Tibet since China maintains rigid control over the area. Foreigners need special travel permits, and journalists are rarely granted access except under highly controlled circumstances.
Chinese Communist troops occupied Tibet in 1951 and Beijing continues to rule the region with a heavy hand. Beijing enforces strict controls on religious institutions and routinely vilifies the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 amid an aborted uprising against Chinese rule and won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.
Olympic spotlight sparks protests
Tibetans inside and outside the country have sought to use the Olympic Games' high profile to call attention to their cause. Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama -- whom many Tibetans consider their rightful ruler -- of trying to sabotage the games.
On Thursday, monks in Lhasa started a hunger strike and two attempted suicide as troops surrounded monasteries in a government crackdown on the widespread protests, RFA said.
They are believed to be the largest demonstrations in the city since Beijing crushed a wave of pro-independence demonstrations in 1989. Since then, China has pumped investment into the region, vilified the Dalai Lama and tried to weed out his supporters among the influential Buddhist clergy.
Beijing maintains that Tibet is historically part of China. But many Tibetans argue the Himalayan region was virtually independent for centuries and accuse China of trying to crush Tibetan culture by swamping it with Han people, the majority Chinese ethnic group.
In northern India, organizers said more than 100 Tibetan exiles began two weeks of detention after police arrested them during a march to their homeland to protest China's hosting of the Olympic Games.
March coordinator Tenzin Palkyi said Friday the exiles are being kept in detention in a state-run hotel while authorities investigate charges they threatened the "peace and tranquility" of the region.
Chinese police 'open fire on crowds' during march led by monks in Lhasa
Tibetans throw stones at Chinese army vehicles in the streets of Lhasa after riots broke out on Friday. View related photosDai Kurokawa / AFP - Getty Images
World Blog: Beijing, China
MSNBC News Services
updated 3 minutes ago
BEIJING - At least people were killed in rioting between Tibetans and Chinese security forces in Lhasa on Friday, according to a report.
U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia said troops using both live ammunition and tear gas fired on crowds torching vehicles and Chinese-owned shops in the center of the ancient capital as protests led by Buddhist monks turned violent.
The U.S. State Department urged Chinese leaders to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader. The European Union also called on China to show restraint.
Story continues below ↓
Witnesses reported hearing gunfire and seeing vehicles in flames in the city's main Barkor shopping district in the center of Lhasa. Crowds hurled rocks at security forces and at restaurant and hotel windows.
'Chaos everywhere'
"It was chaos everywhere. I could see fires, smoke, cars and motorcycles burning," said a Tibetan guide who spoke on condition his name not be used, fearing retaliation by authorities. He said the whole road in the main Barkor shopping area surrounding the Jokhang temple "seemed to be on fire."
The guide said armed police in riot gear backed by armored vehicles were blocking major intersections in the city center, along with the broad square in front of the Potala, the former winter home of the Dalai Lama.
"As I approached Potala Square, I heard cannon fire, louder than rifles. Others told me police were firing tear gas along Beijing Zhonglu, west of the Potala," he said.
Dalai Lama demands end to 'brute force'
The Dalai Lama appealed to the Chinese leadership on Friday to stop using "brute force" against Tibetan protesters.
"These protests are a manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment of the Tibetan people under the present governance," he said in a statement. "I therefore appeal to the Chinese leadership to stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people."
The largest demonstrations in nearly two decades against Beijing's 57-year-rule over Tibet come at a critically sensitive time for China as it attempts to portray a unified and prosperous nation ahead of the Olympic Games in August.
The protests that began on Monday's anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule were initially led by hundreds of Buddhist monks -- but then attracted large numbers of ordinary Tibetans. They were also spreading to Tibetan areas outside Lhasa, a city of about 250,000 permanent residents, not including large numbers of soldiers and members of the paramilitary People's Armed Police.
Up to 400 protesters, including students, had gathered around a market near the Jokhang temple early on Friday and were confronted by about 1,000 police, according to a witness cited by Matt Whitticase of the Free Tibet Campaign in London.
Four police were injured, and another protest break out near the Potala Palace, Whitticase added.
Shops were set on fire along two main streets surrounding the Jokhang temple, Ramoche monastery, and the city's main Chomsigkang market, sending out heavy smoke.
A Western traveler using the name "John" told BBC World television that police had attacked monks near monasteries and said he saw military convoys moving into Lhasa carrying heavily armed troops.
In a terse report, China's official Xinhua News Agency said people had been hospitalized with injuries and vehicles and shops torched, but gave few details.
Tensions in the Tibetan capital have risen in recent days as the city's three biggest monasteries were sealed off by thousands of soldiers and police in a government crackdown, the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia reported Friday.
Americans told to avoid city
The U.S. Embassy e-mailed an advisory to Americans warning them to stay away from Lhasa. The embassy said it had "received firsthand reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other indications of violence."In Washington, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, "Beijing needs to respect Tibetan culture. Needs to respect multi-ethnicity in their society. We regret the tensions between the ethnic groups and Beijing. The president has said consistently that Beijing needs to have a dialogue with the Dalai Lama."
Story continues below ↓
European Union leaders appealed to China to show restraint, and France's foreign minister said Paris was keeping its options open on whether to take further measures, possibly relating to the Olympics.
Hotels in Lhasa were placed under lockdown at noon, said a hotel worker in the city.
"No one has been allowed to leave the hostel, as protesters on Beijing Dong Road have turned violent ... we can hear shouting and a loud commotion outside, but cannot even look outside the windows to see what is happening outside, because they will throw rocks at us if they see us," said the worker, who did not want her name used or her hotel identified for fear of harassment by authorities.
It is extremely difficult to get independent verification of events in Tibet since China maintains rigid control over the area. Foreigners need special travel permits, and journalists are rarely granted access except under highly controlled circumstances.
Chinese Communist troops occupied Tibet in 1951 and Beijing continues to rule the region with a heavy hand. Beijing enforces strict controls on religious institutions and routinely vilifies the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 amid an aborted uprising against Chinese rule and won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.
Olympic spotlight sparks protests
Tibetans inside and outside the country have sought to use the Olympic Games' high profile to call attention to their cause. Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama -- whom many Tibetans consider their rightful ruler -- of trying to sabotage the games.
On Thursday, monks in Lhasa started a hunger strike and two attempted suicide as troops surrounded monasteries in a government crackdown on the widespread protests, RFA said.
They are believed to be the largest demonstrations in the city since Beijing crushed a wave of pro-independence demonstrations in 1989. Since then, China has pumped investment into the region, vilified the Dalai Lama and tried to weed out his supporters among the influential Buddhist clergy.
Beijing maintains that Tibet is historically part of China. But many Tibetans argue the Himalayan region was virtually independent for centuries and accuse China of trying to crush Tibetan culture by swamping it with Han people, the majority Chinese ethnic group.
In northern India, organizers said more than 100 Tibetan exiles began two weeks of detention after police arrested them during a march to their homeland to protest China's hosting of the Olympic Games.
March coordinator Tenzin Palkyi said Friday the exiles are being kept in detention in a state-run hotel while authorities investigate charges they threatened the "peace and tranquility" of the region.
