"What the government is saying is not true," one monk shouted out."They killed many people," another monk said, referring to Chinese security forces.The outburst by the monks lasted for about 15 minutes before government officials ended it and told the journalists it was "time to go."China has strenuously argued that the widespread arson and looting were criminal acts orchestrated by separatists, while refusing to discuss the root causes of the anger and alienation blamed for sparking the violence.A vice governor of Tibet, Baima Chilin, later told reporters the monks would not be punished.However, Tibet activists voiced concern Friday over possible Chinese government retaliation against the Buddhist monks."There are serious fears for the welfare and whereabouts" of the monks, the International Campaign for Tibet said in a statement."The monks' peaceful protest shattered the authorities' plans to convey an image that the situation in Lhasa was under control after recent demonstrations and rioting," it said.Other than the incident at the Jokhang Temple, one of Tibetan Buddhism's holiest shrines, most of the second day of the tour went according to plan, with officials sticking to the government line that the protests were plotted by supporters of the Dalai Lama to sabotage the upcoming Olympics.
On Friday, the Dalai Lama again denied China's accusations, saying he has repeatedly supported Beijing's hosting of the Summer Games. In a statement released from his headquarters in northern India, he also said that he has "no desire to seek Tibet's separation. Nor do I have any wish to drive a wedge between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples."But he raised concerns that China's portrayal of the protests in Lhasa, focusing on attacks by Tibetans against Han Chinese, was fanning the flames of ethnic conflict."The state media's portrayal of the recent events in Tibet, using deceit and distorted images, could sow the seeds of racial tension with unpredictable long-term consequences. This is of grave concern to me," he said.The protests had started out peacefully among monks in Lhasa on March 10, the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. But four days later, they spiraled into violence. Tibetans torched hundreds of buildings and attacked members of China's dominant Han ethnic group and Hui Muslims.A staffer at the China Tibet Information Center said there are an estimated 1,500 Muslims in Lhasa. Officials with the Lhasa government and Religious Affairs Bureau said they did not know how many Muslims were in the city.The government says at least 22 people have died in Lhasa; Tibetan rights groups say nearly 140 Tibetans were killed, including 19 in Gansu province.One of the monks protesting Thursday said the death toll was far higher than the government was saying, but did not give the source of his information."The cadres and the army killed more than 100 Tibetans. They arrested more than a thousand," he said.After the 1989 uprising in Lhasa, Tibetans claimed many more Tibetans died than the official toll of 16 because families feared punishment if participants went to hospitals.Fu Jun, head of the News Affairs Office of the Propaganda Department of the Tibet Communist Party, said Friday that the monks were spreading rumors."We are keeping an open mind about their complaints.The rumor is misleading the media without a shred of evidence...We will clear up facts in a few days' time when appropriate," Fu said.State TV, which has widely covered the foreign journalists' tour, showed the Jokhang visit on its evening newscast, but not the monks' outburst.Journalists were taken Friday morning to interview members of the Communist Party-run Buddhist Association, who reiterated the Chinese accusations against the Dalai Lama."This was premeditated," said Drubkang, a member of Beijing's top government advisory body, who like many Tibetans uses just one name.Drubkang also criticized the many young monks who have taken part in protests in Lhasa and neighboring Chinese provinces."They've been violating the country's laws and Buddhist canon, and they want to politicize religious practice," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/china_tibet;_ylt=Am0QEkroJFugIEdRPC8.0OKs0NUE
As in the days of Noah....