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["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>]

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7306096.stm>
Last Updated: Thursday, 20 March 2008, 04:56 GMT
China announces arrests in Tibet
Smoke rises in Lhasa following anti-Chinese protests, 14 March 2008
Peaceful protests developed into riots in Lhasa last week
China's authorities have arrested 24 people following protests against Chinese rule in the Tibetan city of Lhasa, 
according to official media.

The announcement came as authorities acknowledged for the first time that 
unrest had spread outside Tibet.

In Lhasa, 170 protesters had surrendered to authorities by late Wednesday, 
state media reported.

The city was returning to calm as China continued to build up its security 
presence in and around Tibet.

Reporting restrictions

Chinese and Tibetan sources have given very different accounts of the protests that began in Lhasa on 10 March, on the 
anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.

        
Police are still everywhere, and for the first time yesterday we saw police 
going into the houses and doing searches
Georg Blume
German journalist in Lhasa

Gansu streets deserted
In pictures: Troops go in

Authorities have placed strict limits on Western journalists trying to report 
on the unrest.

On Thursday the official Tibet Daily quoted prosecutors as saying two dozen suspects had been arrested for "endangering 
national security as well as beating, smashing, looting, arson and other grave crimes".

A government website quoted Lhasa deputy chief prosecutor Xie Yanjun as saying that suspects "should be severely 
punished to protect the strictness of the law".

"This law-breaking was organised, premeditated and carefully planned by the Dalai clique," he said, reiterating China's 
claim that Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, had incited the unrest.

        
TIBETAN PROTESTS
Map
Tibet: Protests began in Lhasa on 10 March, dozens reported dead over weekend
Gansu: Unrest spread to Machu, where Tibetan government in exile says 19 died, and near Hezuo, where protesters were 
filmed tearing down Tibetan flag
Sichuan: Reports of riots and casualties in Aba, and of unrest in other 
locations
Qinghai: Other unrest reported

Key events and places
Tibet's unsettled borders

State media reported that 170 people had handed themselves in - up from the 105 people they said had surrendered to 
police in Lhasa after being threatened with harsh punishment if they failed to meet a Monday deadline.

It is not clear whether the 24 arrested are among the 170 reported to have surrendered. Rights groups say they have 
heard reports of arrests in the hundreds.

Georg Blume, a German journalist, told the BBC that in Lhasa "things have 
been getting a little bit back to normal.

"But police are still everywhere, and for the first time yesterday we saw police 
going into the houses and doing searches".

Protesters told him they had been angered by the repression of monks and 
daily discrimination against Tibetans, he said.

Gansu video

State media also reported for the first time that there had been unrest in the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu, 
neighbouring Tibet.

Xinhua news agency referred to protesters in Aba country, Sichuan as "mobsters", saying they had caused "great damage" 
to shops and government offices.

        
Protesters near Hezuo in Gansu tear apart a flag
Gansu protesters tore up China's flag and raised the Tibetan one

Protesters in China

Demonstrators had called for Tibetan independence and waved the flags of Tibet's 
"government-in-exile", it said.

Earlier, video emerged from Gansu showing Tibetans tearing down a Chinese 
flag and replacing it with a Tibetan one.

Hundreds of protesters can be seen on foot and horseback in Tuesday's incident at a school near Hezuo, captured by a 
Canadian film crew.

Crackdown

Chinese authorities have intensified efforts to bring Tibet under control, 
drawing in troops from neighbouring areas.

On Wednesday alone, BBC reporters saw more than 400 troop carriers and other vehicles on the main road - the largest 
mobilisation since the unrest began.

        
TIBET DIVIDE
China says Tibet was always part of its territory
Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before 20th century
1950: China launched a military assault
Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising in 1959
Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India

Accounts from Tibet
Send us your comments

Tibetan exiles say that at least 99 people have died, including 80 in Lhasa. China says that 16 people were killed, 
including three rioters.

Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama has called for the international community to support "our efforts to resolve Tibet's problems 
through dialogue".

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said China's Premier Wen Jiabao had told him 
he was open to talks under certain conditions.

He said he had told Mr Wen that he would meet the Dalai Lama during a visit to London in May and that the violence in 
Tibet must end.
                
VIDEO AND AUDIO NEWS
Clash that 'sparked' Tibet's violent protests

TENSION IN TIBET

KEY STORIES

China announces arrests in Tibet
Dalai Lama urges Tibet dialogue
Tibet kept on Olympic torch route
UN calls for restraint in Tibet

FEATURES AND ANALYSIS

Tibetan Buddhist monks in exile shout anti-China slogans at a protest in 
Dharamsala, India China's quandary
Could Tibet gain independence or greater autonomy?

China cracks down on news
Streets deserted in Gansu
Dalai Lama's home off-limits
Tibet's unsettled borders

VIDEO REPORTS
Protester on horseback Protesters defiant in Tibet row
watch Dalai Lama
watch Wen Jiabao

BACKGROUND

Key places and events
Guide: Inside Tibet
Q&A: China and Tibet
Profile: The Dalai Lama

EYEWITNESS

Tibetans describe unrest
Chinese react to violence
Lhasa now 'in cinders'
Monk 'kicked to the floor'

FROM OTHER NEWS SITES
Tyler Morning Telegraph Tibet Protests Still Flaring, but Chinese Police Gradually Expand Control in Tibetan Areas - 39 
mins ago
CNN China acknowledges further unrest - 1 hr ago
Houma Today* China Tightens Grip in Tibetan Areas - 2 hrs ago
Galveston County Daily News China Tightens Grip in Tibetan Areas - 2 hrs ago
Toronto Star Online* Beijing admits riots spread to provinces, arrests made - 
3 hrs ago