Two days after peaceful demonstrations across Tibet turned violent in the capital Lhasa, the Reuters news agency has reported that the violent clashes between protesters and Chinese security forces have spread to neighboring provinces. Supporters of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, say they have confirmed at least 80 deaths among demonstrators.
Xinhua, China's official state-run media organization, reports only 10 civilian deaths and a number of policemen injured. The BBC reported yesterday that mainland China and Chinese-language domestic media were under a near total information blackout regarding the Tibet demonstrations. The government has refused to confirm that security forces were responsible for any civilian deaths.
Calls for an international boycott of the Beijing Olympics later this year have so far been treated as an overreaction by most governments. The Dalai Lama himself said he expects the international community will pressure Beijing authorities to "be a good host" of the Olympics, which means implementing more democratic reforms and disavowing all violence against civilians or persecution of political dissidents.
According to Reuters, in Aba county Sichuan province, China, which has a large Tibetan population, there are reports of firebombings and vandalism, and police firing on demonstrators. The news service also reports "widespread talk of 10 or more dead" in Aba county.
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