Tibet Demonstrators Ordered to Give Themselves Up

Chinese authorities in Tibet today gave people involved in anti-China protests a deadline of midnight tonight (1600 GMT) to give themselves up.

The move came amid widely differing claims about the extent of the violence in the regional capital, Lhasa, last week.

Champa Phuntsok, the regional governor, said the violence had left 16 people dead and dozens injured, but Tibetan exile groups put the death toll at 80 as witnesses reported continuing violence.

The uprising - the fiercest against Chinese rule in almost two decades - has embarrassed China's communist government, undermining its hopes of an unblemished run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

"No country would allow those offenders or criminals to escape the arm of justice, and China is no exception," Champa, an ethnic Tibetan installed as the region's governor, told reporters.

"If these people turn themselves in, they will be treated with leniency within the framework of the law."

He urged protesters to inform on other people involved in the violence, saying they "could be treated even more leniently" if they did so. Otherwise, he added, "we will deal with them harshly".

Britain has expressed concern at the level of violence.

"Nobody can be comfortable with the terrible things happening in Tibet," Lord Malloch Brown, the Foreign Office minister, told Sky News. However, he said it would be a "great mistake" to boycott the Olympics.

The Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet said residents were fearful of a military crackdown around tonight's deadline.

Security forces were being deployed across a broad expanse of western China, where demonstrations were breaking out in Tibetan communities in the provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu.

A witness in Sichuan said government troops had moved into a county in Aba prefecture, where clashes between monks and police broke out on Sunday. Unconfirmed reports said seven people had been killed.

In Maqu county, which borders Sichuan, violence broke out today as thousands of protesters, including monks, clashed with dozens of police. A policeman said around 10 officers were injured.

The unrest in Tibet began on March 10 - the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. Tibet had been effectively independent for decades before Chinese troops entered in 1950.

Beijing has repeatedly claimed the violence was engineered by supporters of the Dalai Lama, whose government in exile has been based in the Indian town of Dharmsala since he fled Tibet after a failed uprising in 1959.

He remains the region's widely revered spiritual leader, and is one of the figures most reviled by China's communist leadership.

Champa alleged that the protests had been "organized, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique".

Speaking to reporters in India yesterday, the Dalai Lama condemned what he called the "cultural genocide" taking place in his homeland, but reiterated his commitment to non-violent methods.

In a further sign of China's concern, Tibet's Communist party secretary, Zhang Qingli — the region's most powerful official — returned to Lhasa over the weekend to meet security forces, the official Tibet Daily newspaper said.

The paper quoted Zhang as saying security forces had "carried out a frontal assault against the thugs" in Lhasa.