China boosts Tibetan burnings crackdown, detains 70

China boosts Tibetan burnings crackdown, detains 70

PanARMENIAN.Net - China's government says it has detained 70 people in ethnic Tibetan areas as it steps up a crackdown on self-immolations aimed at protesting communist rule, AP reported.

The detentions came as Beijing stepped up efforts to blame the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, for protests in which nearly 100 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people have set themselves on fire since 2009.

The harsh measures are a sign new Chinese leaders installed in November is not easing up on Tibet despite the protests and international condemnation.

The protesters are calling for Beijing to allow greater religious freedom and the return from exile of the Dalai Lama, who lives in India.

Communist troops occupied the Himalayan region in 1951. Beijing says it has been part of China for centuries but Tibetans say it was independent for much of that time and want greater autonomy. The Dalai Lama fled the region in 1959 as Chinese troops crushed protests against communist rule.

The latest detentions occurred in an ethnic Tibetan area of Qinghai province, which abuts Tibet, the government's Xinhua News Agency reported late Thursday. It said 12 of those detained were formally arrested but gave no details of the charges.

Beijing has responded to the protests by sending in security forces to seal off areas and prevent information from getting out, arresting protesters' friends and seizing satellite TV dishes. Despite that, the pace of self-immolations accelerated in November as the ruling Communist Party held a pivotal leadership transition.

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