Security forces fire tear gas at monks

CHINA: THOUSANDS OF Chinese security personnel fired tear gas to try to disperse more than 600 monks taking part in a second day of street protests in Tibet, a source and Radio Free Asia said yesterday.

"The police were armed with electric prods. Other uniformed security forces had firearms," the source said.

"The monks chanted 'Release our people'," the source said, quoting a witness. The group, from the Sera monastery, also shouted "We want human rights and freedom".

On Monday, 300 monks defied authorities by staging a march in the capital Lhasa, which a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman described as "an illegal activity that threatened social stability".

Chinese troops invaded Tibet in 1950 and nine years later the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, fled into exile after a failed revolt against Chinese rule. Tibet has since become a point of contention between Chinese communist leaders and those who advocate independence or greater autonomy for the region.

© 2008 Reuters

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times