Dalai Lama: China must stop using force against protesters

The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader as well as the head of Tibet’s government-in-exile, which is based in this north Indian hill town, said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned over the situation that has been developing in Tibet following peaceful protests.”

His comments came as protests by Buddhist monks in Tibet turned violent, with shops and vehicles set on fire and gunshots fired in the streets of the region’s capital, Lhasa. A radio report said two people had been killed in what have become the largest demonstrations in nearly two decades against Beijing’s 57-year-rule over Tibet.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 amid an aborted uprising against Chinese rule, called on the Chinese leadership to “stop using force and address the long simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people. I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence.”

Earlier Friday, more than 100 Tibetan exiles began a two-week detention in northern India after police arrested them during a march to their homeland to protest China’s hosting of the Olympic Games.

The exiles are being kept in detention in a state run hotel while authorities investigate the charges of threatening the “peace and tranquility” of the region, said Tenzin Palkyi, a march coordinator.

On Thursday, the Tibetans refused to sign statements requiring them to stop the march and avoid crossing the district boundary which would have ensured their immediate release, said Veena Rani, an official in the magistrate’s office.

Magistrate Mamta, who uses one name, sent them to 14 days in judicial custody, Rani said.

A decision to free them or extend their custody would be taken by the magistrate in two weeks, she said.

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