【媒体】路透社
【链接】
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLL44228
PARIS, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama accused Chinese troops ofopening fire on protesters in eastern Tibet on Aug. 18 and said in aninterview published on Thursday he had unconfirmed information that 140people were killed.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader toldthe French newspaper Le Monde that the army opened fire during aprotest in the eastern Tibetan region of Kham on Monday.
"I gather that 140 Tibetans were killed, although the figure needs to be confirmed," the Dalai Lama was quoted as saying.
"Since the riots in March, reliable witnesses have established that 400people have been killed in the Lhasa area alone ... If you consider thewhole of Tibet, the number of victims is obviously higher," he said.
An aide to the Dalai Lama in India, where the Tibetan Buddhist leader is based, played down his comments.
"We know about disturbances in the Kham region. But we do not have anydetails or figures about injuries or deaths," said the aide, ChhimeChhoekyapa, in the northern town of Dharamsala.
"Nor do we have any exact dates for the disturbances."
The Dalai Lama is nearing the end of a two-week visit to France duringwhich he has already accused China of increasing repression in Tibet.
On Monday the Free Tibet Campaign, an activist group, said China hadstepped up repression in its ethnic Tibetan regions to prevent anyprotests during the Beijing Olympics.
China's crackdown onprotests in Tibet in March drew widespread criticism in theinternational community and Beijing accused the Dalai Lama and hisallies of orchestrating the trouble. He denies this.
"Tenthousand people have been arrested (since March). We don't know wherethey are being held," the Dalai Lama said in his interview with LeMonde.
He said Chinese authorities were accelerating theconstruction of military camps in Tibet and this made him fear they hadplans to maintain Tibet under long-term repression.
"Themilitary presence in Tibet is old, but the frenzy of new constructionin the Amdo and Kham regions makes me say that this colonisation by thearmy is designed to last," he said.
The Dalai Lama said lastweek in a meeting with French parliamentarians that he feared Chinawould accelerate the settlement of one million ethnic Han Chinese inTibet immediately after the Games to dilute the ethnic Tibetanpopulation still further.
His visit to France is focused mainlyon religious commitments, but on Friday he will meet President NicolasSarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and Foreign Minister BernardKouchner.
Sarkozy declined to meet the Dalai Lama, drawingwidespread criticism that he was caving in to pressure from Beijing,which had warned him through its ambassador there would be "seriousconsequences" if such a meeting took place. (Additional reporting byDelhi bureau) (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon, editing by MikeCollett-White)
