China says nine Tibetan monks arrested over bomb plot
Sunday, 13 Apr 2008 12:06
China's president has said that Tibet is an internal security matter
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China's official Xinhua news agency has reported the arrest of nine Tibetan monks over an alleged bomb plot last month.
The state-media organisation said the people detained had confessed to planting a bomb at a local government building on March 23rd.
It reported that the monks came from the Tongxia monastery in the territory and had transported the explosive device on a motorcycle. Xinhua did not say if the detonation of the bomb in the area resulted in any casualties or damage to property
Previously China has accused Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama of being behind the unrest in the Chinese territory. The exiled religious figure responded at the time by criticising Beijing's "cultural genocide" of the Tibetan people and calling for a dialogue with the government.
The Chinese government has acknowledged the deaths of over 20 people in last month's operations, although Tibetan human rights activists put the death toll at over a hundred people.
China's human rights record has come under increased scrutiny following demonstrations in Tibet which were ended after China sent in its military and arrested hundreds of activists.
Protestors in London, Paris and San Francisco have also targeted the Olympic torch relay by trying to grab and even extinguish the flame as it travels around the world before reaching Beijing at the Games' opening ceremony.