DHARAMSALA, India - The Dalai Lama hasurged restraint in a stand-off between security forces andTibetans at a Buddhist monastery in southwest China, said tohave been sparked by the self-immolation of a monk last month.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader warned of potentially"catastrophic consequences" of the clashes, which he said couldprompt a huge crackdown by Beijing on the local population.
Hundreds of ethnic Tibetan people had gathered at the Kirtimonastery on Tuesday trying to stop authorities moving out monksfor government-mandated "re-education", according to exiledTibetans and activists. That prompted armed police to lockdownthe monastery with as many as 2,500 monks inside. "I am very concerned that this situation if allowed to go onmay become explosive with catastrophic consequences for theTibetans in Ngaba," the Dalai Lama said in a statement late onFriday. "In view of this I urge both the monks and the lay Tibetansof the area not to do anything that might be used as a pretextby the local authorities to massively crack down on them." A 21-year-old Tibetan monk burned himself to death on March16 in Aba, an overwhelmingly ethnic Tibetan part of Sichuanprovince that erupted in defiance against Chinese CommunistParty control three years ago. His act echoed protests that gripped Tibetan areas of Chinain March 2008, when Buddhist monks and other Tibetan peopleloyal to the Dalai Lama confronted police and troops across theregion. [ID:nTOE72F08I] Instead of putting out the flames, Chinese police beat theyoung monk, creating huge resentment in the monastery, the DalaiLama said in his statement. The Dalai Lama in March stated his intention to hand overpolitical power to the exiled Tibetan parliament in northernIndia, though he remains the global face of the Tibetan exiledmovement. Beijing brands him a dangerous trouble maker. Chinese security forces have reportedly used excessive forceto end the protest at the monastery, including beating up localsand deploying attack dogs against them, Human Rights Watch saidon Friday. "Human Rights Watch's concern for the safety of the localresidents around the Kirti monastery has been heightened by thefact that Chinese security forces are increasingly disregardingthe rule of law as part of a campaign involving the arrests anddisappearances of dozens of the country's most prominentlawyers, human rights defenders, and internet activists inrecent months," it added in a statement.
