http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g2q1ju-LS7-rzNKuhAMBGGYROgkQ
Rice urges China to grant media, diplomatic access to Tibet
3 hours ago
WA****NGTON (AFP) -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged China
on Friday to open its troubled region of Tibet up to journalists and
diplomats.
"We have been very concerned about the closed nature of all of this,
the lack of transparency," Rice told re****ters during a press
conference in Wa****ngton with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier.
"It's im****tant that journalists be able to get in, it's im****tant
that diplomatic personnel be able to get into Tibet so that there can
be independent re****ting about what's going on there," she said.
"But I believe that China would really do itself a great service and
not to mention the people of Tibet, if it were willing to have a more
open attitude toward responsible Tibetan cultural and religious
authorities," she said.
Rice and other US officials have repeatedly urged China to act with
restraint against protestors there and open a dialogue with Tibet's
spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Rice said on Wednesday that the State Department would like to set up
a consulate in Tibet after complaining that China has so far allowed
only limited access to US diplomats since troubles began in March.
Rice told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the United States
"has been very active in making the case to the Chinese that they are
going to be better off to deal with moderate forces on Tibet like the
Dalai Lama, that they should open a dialogue with him."
She added that the United States "pressed for consular access for
diplomats into Tibet. We got some limited access, but frankly it
wasn't good enough."
Violence erupted in Tibet on March 14 after days of peaceful protests
in Lhasa against 57 years of Chinese rule and quickly spilled over
into other parts of China inhabited by Tibetans.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say 150 people have died in the Chinese
crackdown on the demonstrations. China insists it has acted with
restraint and killed no one, while blaming Tibetan "rioters" for the
deaths of 20 people.
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