16.03.2008, 10:51
Zitat: China on Sunday issued a statement condemning rioting in Lhasa from its state-appointed Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Panchen Lama, as witnesses said Tibetan independence protests that left dozens dead in Lhasa had spread to more monastery towns.
'The rioters' acts not only harmed the interests of the nation and the people, but also violated the aims of Buddhism,' the government's official Xinhua news agency quoted the Panchen Lama, Gyaincain Norbu, as saying.
China's 18-year-old 11th Panchen Lama was chosen in 1995 by state-sponsored Tibetan Buddhist leaders.
A rival 11th Panchen Lama, chosen and recognized by supporters of the exiled Dalai Lama, has reportedly been held under virtual house arrest in China since he was 6 years old.
An estimated 3,000 Tibetan protesters in the town of Xiahe, near Labrang monastery in China's Gansu province, on Saturday shouted statements in support of the Dalai Lama and called for the release of the Panchen Lama, US-based Radio Free Asia reported.
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