China Raising Security Over Tibet Protests

January 31, 2012

A top official in Chinese-ruled Tibet has ordered tightened security in Buddhist monasteries and along key roads in a bid to prevent further protests and deadly clashes in ethnic Tibetan-inhabited areas.

Qi Zhala, the Communist Party chief in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, has also ordered a crackdown on alleged "separatist" activities he linked to Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The orders, disclosed on Chinese state-run media and websites, came after up to three Tibetans were reported killed and others injured last week in Tibet’s Sichuan Province, when police opened fire on crowds, according to Tibet support groups outside China.

Chinese authorities said two people died in the incidents, which it blamed on violent protesters.

Compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/china_tibet_int_protests/24468530.html

Copyright (c) 2012. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.