TIBET:TIBET SECURITY forces in Lhasa searched houses for rioters and made two dozen arrests as they continued their crackdown on anti-Chinese protests that killed an unknown number of people and brought turmoil to Tibet and surrounding regions last week. CLIFFORD COONAN, China Correspondent, reports.
In a sign that the central government in Beijing is anticipating more trouble, possibly related to the Olympic torch events, hundreds of military trucks carrying thousands of heavily armed troops were seen on roads leading to Tibet.
A BBC reporter said more than 400 vehicles were seen heading to Tibet through mountain passes in western China, while the witness said troops still appeared to be arriving in Lhasa yesterday.
The London-based Free Tibet Campaign quoted eyewitnesses who had seen 200 truckloads of troops arriving in Gannan City in Gansu province after protests where monks had taken to the streets but then been convinced to stop by older lamas.
There were two arrests there, while in Sichuan province, scores of trucks filled with armed militia were also arriving and there were reports of further arrests.
The prosecutor's office in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, said 24 suspects had been rounded up and would be charged with "endangering national security as well as beating, smashing, looting, arson and other grave crimes". One witness told The Irish Times the streets of Lhasa were still empty, but that a climate of fear prevailed.
"People are being rounded up, the streets are still quiet and a few shops are opening up, but the people are scared," the witness said.
"There are still troops on the ground but the city is calm, though some people have seen uprisings in the outskirts and some villages nearby - there were gunshots heard and the sky was red in one place, so maybe there was a fire."
The fallout from the riots has brought global attention to China's Olympic preparations and some governments are considering boycotting the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Next week, the Olympic torch will be run in relay across 19 countries and Tibet is on the route, so more protests are expected.
"The government has told business people that they are planning to open up tourism as soon as possible to give a semblance of normalcy, and with the Olympic torch coming next week they will want to give the impression that everything is under control," the witness said.
Matt Whitticase, campaign director for the Free Tibet Campaign, said: "If the torch does go through Tibet, and the Tibetans feel deflated and cowed, then it will be highly inflammatory."
China's response has been dogged in the face of international condemnation and pleas for a measured response.
Beijing believes that its investments in Tibet have brought about huge improvements in the province and dragged the impoverished territory into the 21st century with high-speed rail links, higher standard of living and other benefits.
Its description of the riots is also very different from those in western news media.
The official Xinhua news agency quoted a Tibetan official Ragdi saying: "A handful of lawless people, chanting separatist slogans in downtown Lhasa, burnt civilian houses and shops, destroyed vehicles, killed 13 innocent people and seriously injured a dozen of law-enforcers."
For the Chinese, the focus has been on the Han Chinese who were attacked in the riots, for which they hold the Dalai Lama and his "clique" firmly responsible.
Speaking of yesterday's arrests, Lhasa deputy chief prosecutor Xie Yanjun said the suspects "should be severely punished to protect the strictness of the law", adding that "this law-breaking was organised, premeditated and carefully planned by the Dalai clique".
It is still unclear how many died in the Lhasa violence and the true figure may never be known. Beijing says 13 innocent people died and three rioters, while Tibetans in exile say the number is much higher, up to 100.
The protests have also hit neighbouring provinces of Sichuan and Gansu, where there are significant Tibetan populations. Nearly three million Tibetans live in these provinces which are outside the area known as the Tibetan Autonomous Region but were annexed to the Chinese provinces in stages after the People's Liberation Army occupied Tibet in 1950.