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- WORLD, Page 43World NotesTIBETChafing Under The Yoke
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- Bonfires and brawls once again choked the streets of the
- Tibetan capital of Lhasa. Ever since China invaded the
- mountainous region in 1950, the Tibetans have periodically
- erupted in violent protest against Communist rule. Last week,
- after three days of rioting, Chinese authorities imposed martial
- law and troops armed with automatic weapons ringed the city to
- quell the unrest. At least 30 people were believed killed and
- more than 100 were wounded in the ensuing melee.
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- From India, the Tibetan government-in-exile condemned the
- Chinese crackdown and said it feared the Communists would use
- the riots "as an excuse to resort to more repressive methods."
- But the bloodshed may increase international pressure on Beijing
- to start negotiations with the Tibetans. The Dalai Lama, who
- fled to India in 1959, has accused the Chinese of stalling on
- proposed talks to make fiercely independent Tibet a
- self-governing entity "in association" with the People's
- Republic.
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