Dalai Lama concerned over stand-off at Tibetan monastery

The monastery,housing approximately 2,500 monks,is completely surrounded by Chinese armed forces,he said.

“I am very concerned that this situation,if allowed to go,on may become explosive with catastrophic consequences for the Tibetans in Ngaba. In view of this I urge both the monks and the lay Tibetans of the area not to do anything that might be used as a pretext by the local authorities to massively crackdown on them,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said.

Appealing to the world to ask China to work for normalisation of the situation,he said,”I also strongly urge the international community,the government around the world,and the international NGOs,to persuade the Chinese leadership to exercise restraint in handling this situation.”

The Tibetan government in exile also appealed to China to lift blockade of the monastery. “We deeply regret the tense stand-off between the local Chinese authorities and the monks of Kirti Monastery and the local Tibetan population of Ngaba in northeastern Tibet,” said Kesang Y Takla,Minister for the Department of Information and International Relations.

“In the strongest possible terms we urge both the Chinese authorities and the Tibetans in Ngaba to exercise utmost restraint. At the same time we urge the local Chinese authorities to immediately stop its blockade of Kirti Monastery.”

He said the situation at the monastery arose when Phuntsog,a 21-year-old monk of Kirti Monastery,set himself on fire on 16 March to protest the alleged repression that was launched to “crush the wide-spread peaceful protests in 2008,three years ago”.