Tibet mars Olympic shine

Paris: Taiwan led sweeping condemnation on Saturday of China's brutal crackdown on protesters in Tibet and accused Beijing of trying to gloss over its rights record with Olympic sheen.

About 30 people have been killed during unrest in Lhasa, according to the Tibetan government-in-exile in India, although China's state-run Xinhua news agency earlier put the figure at 10, citing government officials.

China on Saturday gave Tibetan independence protesters an ultimatum to surrender after riots in Lhasa, the worst unrest in the region for two decades.

Tibet's government-in-exile yesterday demanded the United Nations intervene to end what it called "urgent human rights violations" by China in the region.

The exiled government in Dharamshala in northern India, home to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, said it had received confirmation that about 30 people had been killed, and was even hearing unconfirmed "numbers of over 100 dead".

"The Tibetan parliament urges the UN to send representatives immediately and intervene and investigate the current urgent human rights violations in Tibet," the administration said.

Tanks and armoured vehicles were out in force in the Tibetan capital Lhasa yesterday, a day after the worst protests against China's rule in the vast, Himalayan region in nearly 20 years, witnesses said.

'Don't penalise athletes'

The tough response by the Chinese authorities came after fierce protests on Friday which contradicted China's claims of stability and tarnished a carefully-nurtured image of national harmony as it readies to stage the Olympic Games in August.

The president of the International Olympic Committee poured cold water on calls for a boycott of the Summer Games in Beijing over China's crackdown in Tibet, saying it would only hurt athletes. "We believe that the boycott doesn't solve anything," Jacques Rogge said. "On the contrary, it is penalising innocent athletes and it is stopping the organisation from something that definitely is worthwhile organising."

International pressure mounted on Beijingon Saturday. India's foreign ministry said it was "distressed" by the unrest and "deaths of innocent people" in Tibet and appealed for dialogue to resolve the situation.

Australia, the United States and Europe urged the Chinese authorities to find a peaceful outcome, while Taiwan, which China claims as its own, predictably condemned Beijing for launching a crackdown.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement that "China attempts to promote the illusion of its 'peaceful rise' by hosting the 2008 Beijing Olympics but in fact it targets Taiwan with missiles and suppresses Tibetan people's pursuit for freedom and democracy."