Chinese president rejects criticism of Tibet crackdown
Saturday, 12 Apr 2008 08:44
The Chinese president insists matters relating to Tibet remain an internal issue
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Chinese president Hu Jintao has insisted that the crackdown on protests in Tibet are purely an internal issue.
The country's human rights record has come under increased scrutiny following demonstrations in Tibet which were ended after China sent in the 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.
After meeting with Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, Mr Jintao was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying: "Our conflict with the Dalai clique is not an ethnic problem, not a religious problem, nor a human rights problem. It is a problem either to safeguard national unification or to split the motherland."
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.
Speaking during a visit to the US, the Dalai Lama told the NBC television station that he was not in favour of a boycott of the Olympic Games but maintained his criticism of the country's human rights record.
In a direct message to the government of China, he said: "We are not against you. And I'm not seeking separation."
The
European Parliament has called on European leaders to consider whether to attend the Games and US presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton have called on US president George Bush not to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
Prime minister Gordon Brown and United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon have expressed support for the international event but will not be attending the opening ceremony of the Games due to scheduling problems.
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.