India joins calls for Tibet dialogue, protests continue

A Tibetan monk walks past a police car on a street in Tongren, Qinghai province March 16, 2008.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India called for dialogue on Sunday after pro-independence protests in Tibet spilled over into street violence, while Washington urged Beijing to respect the right of citizens to express their political and religious views.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged China's government to show restraint in Tibet and voiced strong concern over the extent of the violence, echoing similar worries from Europe and Australia.

Tibet's capital Lhasa was locked down on Sunday, two days after at least 10 people were killed in riots.

China has declared a "people's war" of security and propaganda against support for the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, underlining that it will not heed calls from around the globe for a lenient response to the riots.

India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Navtej Sarna was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times that reports of the "unsettled situation and violence in Lhasa, and by the deaths of innocent people" were distressing.

"We hope that all those involved will work to improve the situation and remove the causes of such trouble in Tibet, which is an autonomous region of China, through dialogue and non-violent means," he said.

Indian police this week arrested Tibetan protesters trying to march to the Chinese border.

New Delhi is treading a delicate balance with its giant neigbour with whom it is trying to expand diplomatic and trade ties after decades of rivalry that included a brief war in 1962.

A major irritant is that India plays host to the Dalai Lama in the India city of Dharamsala, host of the self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile and the scene of daily protests in the past week.

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In Dharamsala's main Buddhist temple on Sunday, about 1,500 people gathered, including many monks, to listen to speeches from Tibetan exile leaders.

Chinese flags were laid out on the main road to the temple, forcing cars and lorrys to drive over them. They were quickly covered in muddy footprints and tire tracks.

"We are showing solidarity for people inside Tibet. We are the last hope for the people inside," said Sonam Dorjee, a protester leading a hunger strike near the Dalai Lama's house.

There have been daily pro-Tibet protests around the world since last Monday, the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule.

A day after protesters scaled a wall at the Chinese consulate in Sydney, demonstrators on Sunday threw eggs and hit a vehicle with flagpoles as it drove into the Chinese consulate compound in Melbourne, according to Australian Associated Press.

Rice, meanwhile, reiterated a call by President George W. Bush for China to engage in a "substantive dialogue" with the Dalai Lama.

"We urge China to respect the fundamental and universally recognized right of all of its citizens to peacefully express their political and religious views, and we call on China to release monks and others who have been detained solely for the peaceful expression of their views," she said.

Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, who has met the Dalai Lama, criticized China's "repression" in Tibet.

"This week, Tibetan monks have sent a message to the world that their aspirations for religious liberty remain as strong as ever," Clinton said in a statement.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in Dharamsala; James Regan in Sydney; Washington bureau; Writing by Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Jerry Norton)