Hundreds of Tibetans are arrested, Beijing says

The arrests are part of the government's effort to quell continuing unrest in the area, even as Beijing faces mounting international pressure to negotiate with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

The unrest, which began with a riot 12 days ago in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, has already cast a pall over preparations for the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer and energized human rights activists and others who believe Tibet should be an independent state.

Beijing has reacted furiously to the riots and to international criticism of its handling of the situation, saying the violent uprising was instigated by the Dalai Lama, as well as Tibetan separatists. The government said 19 people were killed and more than 600 wounded.

The government attacked the Dalai Lama in a statement, declaring that Tibet is undeniably a part of China.

"This riot was deliberately manipulated by the Dalai Lama clique and our government has taken legal actions to return Lhasa and other places to normality," Qin Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a statement released by his office Wednesday. "The Dalai Lama is not purely a religious person. For a long time, he wore a religious coat and held the banner of peace while trying to separate China and destroy social stability and national unity."

The Tibetan government in exile has disputed Beijing's casualty figures, saying that at least 140 people had died in the demonstrations.

Tibet and neighboring provinces, which have large Tibetan populations, are now under tight military control, with roadblocks and house-to-house searches for suspects under way, according to people in the region.

Beijing says order has been restored in Lhasa and most other Tibetan regions, but there have been reports of protests and sporadic violence in some areas.

This week, the Chinese government issued a "most wanted" list with the names of 53 people who it says took part in anti-government protests or riots, according to Xinhua, the government news agency.

Some world leaders are now pressing China to use restraint in Tibetan areas and to negotiate with the Dalai Lama, who in 1959 fled Tibet and settled in bordering India. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged China to negotiate with the Dalai Lama.

Beijing has reacted angrily to any attempt to link unrest in Tibet to the Olympics and has stepped up an aggressive campaign aimed at portraying the Dalai Lama as a separatist.

Beijing said it has evidence that the riots were instigated by what it calls the "Dalai clique."

The Dalai Lama has insisted in recent weeks that he had no role in the violent protests and that he does not favor independence for Tibet. He has also offered to resign if Tibetans in western China continue to engage in violence.

Hoping to sway public opinion, Beijing allowed a group of about 26 hand-picked foreign journalists to travel to Lhasa on Wednesday morning to witness the damage in the city and interview victims of the riots, according to the state-controlled media.

Very few journalists have been able to report from inside Tibet. Shortly after the March 14 riots, the government began forcing foreign journalists out of the city. Government blockades have also prevented foreign journalists from reaching Tibetan areas in neighboring provinces.

The foreign journalists invited to Lhasa on Wednesday are on a three-day, government-supervised trip. The Associated Press was among the organizations allowed to travel there; The New York Times was not offered entry.

The Chinese media have been driving home Beijing's message: that Tibetan separatists acted as terrorists, while the government responded with restraint in quelling the riots.

Chen Yang contributed research from Shanghai.

Photo: Kyodo News via Reuters