By KUNA
Vienna : The Austrian Foreign Ministry summoned the new Chinese Ambassador in Vienna, Wu Ken, and expressed official condemnation and extreme anxiety over the situation in Tibet and neighboring Chinese provinces.
A ministry media department statement said the Foreign Minister, Ursula Plassnik, told the diplomat her country wanted China to take all necessary steps to prevent further escalation.
The state also sharply criticized China’s exaggerated response to peaceful protests and demanded clarification over the fate of those arrested and of EU nationals in the Tibet region.
Banning outsider media and monitors escalates concerns of the international community and casts doubts over China’s intentions, the statement said.
The state urged dialogue with the Dalai Lama as the lone real option and the spiritual leader was referred to as a “figure of non-violence and pacifism” in a clear vindication regarding the violent protests that broke out in the region 12 days ago.
The Chinese ambassador meanwhile protested an attempt to break into the embassy by Tibet supporters recently and noted he got the impression, after meeting Plassnik, that all due measures would be taken to prevent such attempt in the future.