By IANS,
Dharamsala : The European Parliament Tuesday asked the Chinese government to end a stand-off at a monastery in northeastern Tibet.
“This brutality is typical of the Chinese regime. The authorities must show restraint by withdrawing the armed security police and ending the lockdown of Kirti monastery,” said a statement posted on the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration, quoting European Parliament Vice-President Edward McMillan-Scott.
“I strongly condemn the treatment of the local lay people who were beaten whilst trying to prevent the armed police from entering the monastery. The Chinese have the responsibility to resolve the grievances of the locals in a fair and transparent way,” he said.
The Kirti monastery, housing nearly 2,500 monks, has been completely surrounded since March 16 by Chinese armed forces, who at one point prevented food and other essential supplies from entering the monastic compound.
The tense situation around the monastery arose when monk Phuntsok set himself afire March 16 to protest the repression of the widespread peaceful protests across Tibet in 2008.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has expressed his deep concern and asked the international community to intervene to end the stand-off following the self-immolation by the monk.
In an appeal to the people of Tibet, the Nobel Peace laureate has said: “I am very concerned that this situation, if allowed to go on, may become explosive with catastrophic consequences for the Tibetans in Ngaba (province).”
“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 crack down on them.”