Dalai Lama calls for an end to violence

More than 100 people have turned themselves in to police following anti-China riots in Tibet’s main city, Lhasa, Chinese state media has said.

People surrendered to secure leniency in response to a deadline set by the authorities, Xinhua news agency said.

China had said it would harshly punish those who failed to surrender. Police in Lhasa have been searching houses and making arrests, activists say. China has blamed the Dalai Lama for the protests - a claim he roundly rejects.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader has called for an end to violence, saying Tibetans have to live with the Chinese whether they like it or not.

‘Life and death struggle’

Tibet’s Communist Party secretary Zhang Qingli has warned of a “long-term” struggle against the Tibetan exile movement. “We are in the midst of a fierce struggle involving blood and fire, a life and death struggle with the Dalai clique,” he told a meeting of regional leaders on Wednesday.

“Leaders of the whole country must deeply understand the arduousness, complexity and long-term nature of the struggle,” he said in remarks carried online by the China Tibet News.

The protests began on 10 March, on the anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, and gradually escalated.

China says 13 people were killed by rioters in Lhasa. Tibetan exiles say at least 99 protesters have died in clashes with the authorities - in Lhasa and beyond.

Call for inquiry

On Tuesday Tibetan activists released images they say support their claim of heavy casualties and Chinese brutality. They say the pictures depict protesters killed by Chinese security forces at Kirti Monastery in Sichuan province on Sunday - but the BBC is unable to verify these claims.

A representative of the Chinese embassy in London, Yu Jing, said it was “hard to judge from the pictures” but that if they were accurate, there would be an explanation. She said some reports suggested the local police station and police officers had been attacked, and that Chinese officials were looking into the claims.

The Tibetan exile government said it had also heard reports of 19 deaths in neighbouring Gansu province. On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao accused the Dalai Lama of masterminding the violence.

The Dalai Lama - who in 1989 won a Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to non-violent protest - has rejected Chinese claims of involvement and called for calm.

“Violence is against human nature,” the Dalai Lama said. “We must not develop anti-Chinese feelings. Whether we like it or not we have to live side-by-side.” He has called for an international inquiry into why the riots took place.

China says Tibet has always been part of its territory but Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before the 20th Century and many Tibetans remain loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959.

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