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Olympic Official Criticizes Anti-Chinese Protests
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One monk told the reporters that the monastery's administrative committee would not punish the protesters, but said because they were also citizens of China, Chinese authorities would look into their behavior and handle it.
Despite China's promise to the International Olympic Committee for full media access, and a new state law dispensing with requiring advance permission for interviews, China continues to effectively bar foreign journalists from Tibet.
Chinese police have detained 953 suspects in connection with the Lhasa riots, Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region government, said in a news conference Wednesday. The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy estimates 2,300 people have been arrested.
Activists, diplomats and politicians have stepped up calls on China to allow foreign observers into Tibet and to resume a dialogue with the exiled Dalai Lama. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd added his name to those voices Wednesday, speaking in Mandarin to students at Peking University.
"Australia like most other countries, recognizes China sovereignty over Tibet. But we also believe it is necessary to recognize there are significant human rights problems in Tibet," Rudd said. "We recognize the need for all parties to avoid violence and find a solution through dialogue. As a long-standing friend of China, I intend to have a straightforward discussion with China's leaders on this."
At the meeting of the Association of National Olympic Committees in downtown Beijing, members drafted a statement calling on the Chinese to strive to find, through "dialogue and understanding, a fair and reasonable solution to the internal conflict that affects the Tibetan region."
But some members, including presumably the Chinese, objected.
"I was the author . . . it was not drafted by lawyers," Rana said. "In the first draft there was mention of Tibet and then there were complaints made saying that we were interfering in the internal affairs of a country. So I modified the text that I drafted and there was no mention of Tibet."
The association changed the statement to declare "its confidence that the government of the People's Republic of China shall strive to find, through dialogue and understanding, a fair and reasonable solution to the internal conflict for the benefit of the Games and the athletes."
