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BEIJING: The Chinese authorities said 105 rioters involved in protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa had surrendered, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
The 105 people gave themselves up to authorities by 11:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Tuesday, 23 hours after a deadline set by the government for those involved in last week's unrest to surrender, Xinhua said.
The Dalai Lama said Tuesday he would resign as leader of Tibet's exiles if unrest in his Himalayan homeland worsened, as aides said a Chinese crackdown had claimed 19 more lives.
The Buddhist leader, speaking in the northern Indian town where his exiled government is based, stressed he was opposed to the violence that erupted in Tibet last week, which saw Chinese shops and banks torched and smashed.
The Nobel Peace laureate, 72, said Tibetans and Chinese needed to live "side by side," urged his countrymen not to resort to violence and reiterated he was not trying to wrest the remote region from Beijing's control.
"We must build good relations with the Chinese," the Tibetan spiritual leader told reporters in Dharamshala.
"We should not develop anti-Chinese feelings. We must live together side by side. In Tibet, Han Chinese and Tibetans can live happily."
Chinese authorities have responded to the unrest with a virtually total lockdown of Tibet and other areas of China with large Tibetan populations.
Beijing has said 13 civilians were killed by Tibetans, but Tibetan exiles said nearly 100 Tibetans were confirmed dead, including, they said, 19 shot by Chinese police in the area of Machu in Gansu province Tuesday.
"There was a protest in Machu this morning, and police fired on them," said Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama's administration.
In all, he said, "80 (Tibetan) people have been confirmed killed in Lhasa (the Tibetan capital) in the past several days and 19 killed today."
China has blocked reporters from entering areas where there are sizeable Tibetan populations, making it impossible to verify diverging accounts.
The incidents have trained international attention on China's human rights record before Beijing hosts the August Olympics. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao renewed charges Tuesday that protesters were trying to undermine the Games.
At an annual news conference broadcast around the world, Wen said the Dalai Lama was "hypocritical" and that Beijing had proof the spiritual leader had orchestrated the unrest.
"We have plenty of evidence that proves that these incidents were organised, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique," Wen said.
But the Dalai Lama denied the charges, and spurned calls by some Tibetan exiles for an international boycott of the Olympics.
"The Olympic games do not take place in Lhasa - the Olympic Games take place in Beijing. It is illogical to blame millions of Chinese," he said.
At the same time, the he said he opposed using violence against Tibet's Chinese rulers, adding that he would step down as leader of the government-in-exile if the bloodshed deepened.
"Violence is almost suicide. Even if 1,000 Tibetans sacrifice their lives, it will not help," he said.
"If things are getting out of control... resignation is the only option," the 72-year-old said, acknowledging his "middle way" policy of seeking autonomy for Tibet had not yielded results and was facing tough criticism from younger and more radical Tibetans in exile.
The Chinese crackdown has brought expressions of concern from the international community.
While many nations have called on China to use restraint in dealing with the protesters, none have so far said they would boycott the Olympics.
But amid last-minute presidential election campaigning in Taiwan, however, frontrunner Ma Ying-jeou of the opposition Kuomintang said he would consider boycotting the Olympics.
Taiwan split with China in 1949 and people there have taken an intense interest in the events in Tibet amid Beijing's long-standing ambitions to bring the island back into its political fold - by force if necessary.
In Nepal at least 58 Tibetan exiles, including two dozen monks and nuns, were still being held on Tuesday after being arrested trying to protest outside a UN compound in the capital Kathmandu.
Police dragged them into vans as they shouted "Free Tibet" and "UN help us". Before being taken away, the group had submitted a letter to the UN calling for it to put pressure on Beijing to end the crackdown. Police said they would be released later in the day.
Communist forces were sent into Tibet in 1950 forcing the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
Last week's riots targeted Chinese-owned banks, homes and shops, hundreds of which were set ablaze.
Tourists arriving on Tuesday in Kathmandu from Lhasa said rampaging Tibetan youths stoned and beat Chinese people and torched stores, but that the situation there was now calm following a major Chinese security clampdown.
"It was an explosion of anger," Canadian John Kenwood told reporters.
"Shops were all burnt out - all the merchandise was on the street in a bonfire. Many buildings were gutted," said Serge Lachapelle, another Canadian.
- AFP/yb
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