| |
BEIJING - Chinese police on Tuesday said Tibetans were planning suicide attacks as part of a campaign ahead of the Beijing Olympics to push for independence in their homeland.
"To our knowledge, the next plan of the Tibetan independence forces is to organise suicide squads to launch violent attacks," Chinese public security ministry spokesman Wu Heping said.
"They fear neither bloodshed nor sacrifice."
Wu linked the alleged suicide attack plans to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and said explosives had been found in Buddhist monasteries in Tibet.
Wu's assertions were among the most dramatic by China in its propaganda offensive against the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of masterminding the unrest that broke out last month in Tibet against Chinese rule of the Himalayan region.
The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, has repeatedly denied orchestrating the unrest, spoken out against the protests when they turned violent, and denied he wants independence for his homeland.
Wu said the anti-China riots that began in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, and spread through Tibetan populated regions in nearby provinces, were organised by a group called the "Tibetan People's Uprising Movement."
He said the movement was organised by exiled Tibetan leaders and was seeking to use the period up to the August Olympics to pressure China's government.
The protests began in Lhasa on March 10 and escalated into rioting there four days later. China says Tibetan rioters killed 18 civilians and two police officers.
Exiled Tibetan leaders have put the death toll from the Chinese crackdown at 135-140 people, with another 1,000 injured and many detained.
During the security sweep, police had confiscated 176 firearms, more than 13,000 rounds of ammunition and 3,500 kilogrammes (7,700 pounds) of explosives, some of which were stored in the dormitories of Buddhist monks, Wu said.
China has barred foreign reporters from travelling to the hot spots. - AFP/ir
|
