Tibetan protests ripple across mountain region

BEIJING (Reuters) - The biggest protests by Tibetan monks in almost two decades have spilled over into Chinese provinces populated by Tibetans as the government's tough response drew condemnation from international groups.

The demonstrations follow a string of marches around the world to mark the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Communist rule in the remote, mountainous region that has become a flashpoint for protests ahead of this year's Beijing Olympics.

On Monday, 500 monks from Drepung monastery defied authorities by staging a rare march in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, which a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman described as "an illegal activity that threatened social stability".

About 2,000 Chinese security personnel fired tear gas to try to disperse 600 monks from Sera monastery taking part in a second day of street protests in Lhasa, a source has told Reuters.

They demanded the release of about a dozen fellow monks from Sera detained this month for waving a Tibetan flag and shouting pro-independence slogans, the source said.

"The demonstrations are the largest by monks since the 1989 protests that led to the imposition of martial law in Tibet's capital," the International Campaign for Tibet said in a statement.

Another rights group said that about 400 monks from Lutsang monastery in the northwestern province of Qinghai, known in Tibetan as Amdo, protested on Monday and shouted slogans for their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to return.

The Dalai Lama fled to India after the failing uprising in 1959, nine years after People's Liberation Army troops marched into the predominantly Buddhist Himalayan region.

The protesters also shouted "Free Tibet!", the London-based Free Tibet Campaign said on Thursday.

About 100 monks from Myera monastery in the neighboring province of Gansu also protested on Monday, the rights group said, adding that police were investigating who was involved.

"The reports of protests outside Lhasa show that Tibetans know the eyes of the world are upon them and are determined not to let the momentum drop," Matt Whitticase of Free Tibet Campaign told Reuters.

The London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International condemned the "harsh crackdown" on protesters in Lhasa and called on China to immediately release all those detained for peacefully exercising their rights.

A source with knowledge of the protests quoted monks and witnesses as saying the sound of gunfire was heard outside the walls of monasteries. But no casualties have been reported.

"The sound of gunfire coming from monasteries around Lhasa are sadly predictable ... (and) could be a harbinger of further clashes between Tibetans and Chinese authorities in this Olympics year," said Mary Beth Markey, vice president of the International Campaign for Tibet.

The demonstrations within the heavily policed region is precisely what China's Communist rulers are keen to avoid ahead of the Olympics in August.

On Wednesday, China closed the north face of Mount Everest to expeditions until after the Olympic torch ascends its peak in early May. Five Americans, including an ethnic Tibetan, unfurled "Free Tibet" banners on Everest -- known in China by its Tibetan name, Qomalangma -- last year.

(Editing by Nick Macfie and Sanjeev Miglani)