China punishes six monks, 24 others for Tibet riots

Handing down the first sentences in Tibet riots, China today jailed 30 people, including six monks, for their alleged role in the worst anti- government protests since 1989 in Lhasa as it asked the Dalai Lama to create suitable conditions for the proposed talks.

The Intermediate People's Court of Lhasa in Tibet's capital sentenced 30 people to jail terms ranging from three years to life in prison for their role in the deadly riots in the Tibetan capital in mid-March.

The court sentenced three persons to life imprisonment for their alleged role in the riots that left 20 people dead and 1,000 injured and prompting a massive security crackdown by Beijing in the Himalayan region.

Basang, a monk from Doilungdeqen County in Lhasa, was sentenced to life for his active role in the mob violence. Of the five monks who followed Basang, two were sentenced to 20 years and the other three to 15 years imprisonment, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Jolted by the riots, China poured military personnel into the restive region and blamed on the Dalai Lama, living in exile in India, for the unrest and trying to disrupt the upcoming Beijing Olympics. The 72-year-old Tibetan monk has condemned the violence and denied any role in it.

Earlier, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Jiang Yu asked the Dalai to "cherish" the opportunity of dialogue with it and create suitable conditions after the Tibetan spiritual leader said the effort would be meaningless if it was just "to show to the world".

"We hope the Dalai could cherish this opportunity, recognise the situation and change his position, to take concrete measures to stop criminal acts of violence, stop disruption and sabotage of the Beijing Olympics, and separatist activities, so as to create conditions for the next step of talks," Jiang said.

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