China declares 'People's War' as Tibet simmers
Beijing (PTI): Chinon Sunday declared a "people's war" to crush the most virulent monk-led protests against its rule in Tibet in two decades that has brought Beijing under scanner ahead of the Olympics here as troops kept a tight vigil in the riot-scarred capital city of Lhasa.
No fresh outbreak of violence was reported by authorities in Lhasa which came under the vice-like grip of security forces after Friday's orgy of violence saw marauding mobs torching buildings and police and private vehicles and loot banks and shops.
However, spontaneous demonstrations continued elsewhere in China with at least three Tibetan protesters killed in clashes in a Tibetan-populated district of Sichuan province in southwest China, rights groups said.
Officials claimed at least 10 civilians had died, mostly of burns, and 12 security personnel were injured in the violence two days ago.
A day after setting a Monday deadline for rioters to surrender or face punishment, Tibetan political and security chiefs vowed to "expose" the Dalai Lama group.
"We must wage a people's war to beat splittism and expose and condemn the malicious acts of these hostile forces and expose the hideous face of the Dalai Lama group to the light of day," they were quoted as saying by media after an emergency meeting.
Charred wreckages were strewn around in some streets in the Old Town, where most shops still remained closed, bearing testimony to the unrest that is reverberating world wide.
Authorities have mobilised troops and officials in steps to clear the roads. "The social order of the once riot site will be gradually restored," a regional government official said. Xinhua said the rioters had torched buildings for civilian use at 160 places.
As tension simmered, the city Mayor Doje Cezhug proclaimed, "Lhasa is calm".
"We didn't enforce martial law there, and the situation in Tibet as a whole is good at present," he said here, blaming the unrest on a "handful" of monks and lawless persons engaged in "beating, smashing, looting and burning".
He said the government is able to maintain "stability for the people".
Many shops reopened and private cars and taxis are back on the streets, official Xinhua news agency said quoting its reporters in Lhasa. "Grocery stalls and shops in my neighbourhood are still open," it quoted a Tibetan ethnic woman, Yangzom, as saying.
"Shop open for the day now and close during the night," a private gas owner Wang said.
Official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday that two of the 12 security personnel injured were in "critical" condition.
"The protesters were barbarous and violent. They ganged up on the young and police officers and beat innocent people," a tourist surnamed Dong staying at a hotel on Bargor street , a major area hit by the violence, was quoted as saying.
A Lhasa resident named Han Jingshan said "Some of the officers were hit hard by the riot and were bleeding badly."
China came under stepped up international pressure to show restraint in handling the protests that convulsed Tibet at a time when Beijing is going all out to showcase China through the Olympic eyes.
Seattle, Washington, a protest against China's rule is held. 

The Central Tibetan Administration, headed by the Dalai Lama, says that at least 80 people have been killed in protests by supporters of Tibet against Chinese rule, despite China's claim that only ten people are dead.

"As the Tibet uprising continues, reliable sources have confirmed that at least 80 people were killed on 14th March 2008 in Lhasa," the website Tibet.net reported. They also said that many dead bodies have been stashed in front of a Public Security Department office in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital where most of the unrest occurred. The site did not name its sources.

The report from Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, was much different. "In Friday's riot, at least ten civilians died, mostly from burns caused by the roving mobs and some others were injured," Xinhua said, citing the Tibetan Regional Government's report. Additionally, they reported that police in Lhasa had saved 580 people, including an entire school, from the violent array of sabotage.

Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, condemned China's reaction to the protests, calling it a "cultural genocide". At a press conference in Dharamsala, seat of the Tibetan government in exile, he said, "They simply rely on using force in order to simulate peace, a peace brought by force using a rule of terror." He also called for an international organization to investigate the situation in Tibet.

China has declared a "People's War" against the protesters, vowing to "expose" the Dalai Lama. "We must wage a people's war to beat splittism and expose and condemn the malicious acts of these hostile forces and expose the hideous face of the Dalai Lama group to the light of day," officials were quoted as saying.

China also prevented access to video website YouTube after many international videos of the protests were posted on the website. YouTube is normally easily accessible in China, which blocks other pornographic or subversive sites with its 'Great Firewall'.