Lhasa Riot poses severe threat to life, stability

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- A veteran Tibetan official Ragdi said here Wednesday morning that the recent riot in Lhasa posed a severe threat to the people's life and social stability.

The crime of rioters, including beating, burning, robbing and killing, greatly threatened the life of Lhasa residents and resulted in significant property damages, said Ragdi, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, or China's top legislature.

Ragdi lambasted against the Dalai clique which he believed instigated and planned the riot in Lhasa last Friday.

Ragdi said a handful of lawless people, chanting separatists words in downtown Lhasa, burnt more than 200 civilian houses and shops, destroyed over 50 vehicles, killed 13 innocent people, and seriously injured a dozen of law-enforcers.

"The rioters' cruelty has aroused huge indignation among the people," the Tibet-born politician said.

"We have sufficient evidence proving that the Lhasa riot was instigated, planned and organized by the Dalai clique," Ragdi said.

"The violent crime instigated by the Dalai clique is nothing but a symbol that shows fierce head-on combat between us and the Dalai clique, which has an important political connotation," he said.

The bloody commotion in Lhasa was aimed to reinforce its compressive stress on undermining the upcoming Beijing Olympics, Ragdi added.

"Ample facts have proved that the Dalai clique premeditated the riot, aimed to disturb the social stability at such a sensitive time. The riot was maliciously incited into a bloody violence in purpose to put pressure on the Chinese government," he said.