Diplomats visit Tibet as Germany says Merkel may skip Olympic ceremony
by Peter Harmsen
39 minutes ago
BEIJING (AFP) - China on Friday allowed the first foreign diplomats to
visit Tibet following deadly riots, as Germany joined some other
European nations in announcing its leader would skip the Olympics
opening.
Two weeks after protests in the Himalayan region turned deadly,
diplomats from 15 embassies, including those of the United States,
Britain, France and Japan, arrived in the Tibetan capital Lhasa for a
hastily arranged tour.
"They will carry out on-the-spot investigation of the real facts of
the... serious and violent criminal incident," the foreign ministry
said.
In Wa****ngton, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack welcomed the
move, but said it was not enough.
"It's not a substitute for the ability of our diplomats, as well as
others, to travel not only to Lhasa, but into the surrounding area
specifically," he told re****ters.
The protests began in Lhasa on March 10 to mark the anniversary of a
failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, an event that saw
the Dalai Lama -- who Friday called again for talks with the
government in Beijing -- to flee to India where he has since lived in
exile.
The unrest erupted into widespread rioting in Lhasa on March 14, and
spread to neighbouring Chinese provinces populated by Tibetans.
As China's crackdown has escalated, so too has the response of the
outside world.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Friday neither he
nor Chancellor Angela Merkel planned to attend the Beijing Olympics
opening, but implied this was not linked to Tibet.
"The s****ts minister does not plan to participate, and I don't think
the chancellor or I will," he told re****ters as he arrived in Slovenia
for two days of talks with his EU counterparts.
He said there had been "no need to scrap anything" as there had never
been any plans to attend.
Several eastern European leaders have already vowed to stay away,
including Czech President Vaclav Klaus, his Estonian counterpart
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's spokeswoman said he also did not
intend going to Beijing in August, although she insisted it had
"nothing to do with what is going on there at the moment."
However, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in London that
Britain, which will host the 2012 Olympics, would not boycott any part
of the Games.
Faced with divisions, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would
ask EU leaders ahead of the Games whether they wanted to boycott the
opening.
"At the time of the Olympics, I will be in the presidency of the
European Union so I have to sound out and consult my fellow members to
see whether or not we should boycott," Sarkozy said.
Meanwhile from his Indian exile, the Dalai Lama appealed again to
China's leaders Friday to enter into "meaningful dialogue" over the
crisis, according to a statement.
"Even at this juncture I have expressed my willingness to the Chinese
authorities to work together to bring about peace and stability," he
said in a message to his "Chinese brothers and sisters."
"I have appealed to the leader****p of the (People's Republic of China)
to clearly understand my position and work to resolve these problems.
I urge the Chinese leader****p to exercise wisdom and to initiate a
meaningful dialogue with the Tibetan people."
China has repeatedly rebuffed calls by the Dalai Lama to meet with him
and has blamed him for the violence.
China says rioters killed 18 innocent civilians and two police
officers.
Exiled Tibetan leaders have put the death toll from the Chinese
crackdown at between 135 and 140, with another 1,000 people injured
and many detained.
Re****ts from Tibet indicated no let-up Friday in China's efforts to
contain the protests, with authorities keeping a tight lid on
potential trouble spots.
All monasteries in Lhasa remained closed, an official at the Lhasa
Tourism Administration said.
"None of the monasteries in Lhasa are open... it's hard to say when
they will reopen. This issue is beyond our powers," the official, who
declined to be named, told AFP by phone.
|
