Exiled Tibet MP cites "third invasion"

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A member of Tibet's parliament-in-exile has likened the deployment of thousands of Chinese troops to crush rioting in the Himalayan region to a third invasion of his homeland.

Mountainous, heavily ethnic Tibetan parts of western China have seen a wave of violent anti-government protests since rioting erupted in Tibet's capital Lhasa on March 14. China says 19 people have been killed by Tibetan mobs, while the government-in-exile says around 140 people have died.

"Beijing has rushed 300,000 troops into Tibetan areas, so (with existing forces) that's almost half a million troops to control 600,000 Tibetans," Khedroob Thondup told Reuters. The figures could not be independently confirmed.

"This is called the third invasion of Tibet," said Khedroob Thondup, who travels frequently to Taiwan from his home in India.

The first invasion came in 1950 when the People's Liberation Army took over the predominantly Buddhist region.

The second, he said, was the July 2006 opening of the 1,142-km (710-mile) railway linking China and Tibet -- the world's highest -- which can bring in thousands of Han Chinese settlers per week.

"The first and the third invasions were the worst," said Khedroob Thondup, a nephew of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. "The first was a shock for all Tibetans. The third was a repetition."

Troops now in Tibet have suppressed most of the protests, Thondup said, causing sub-surface discontent to grow.

Tibetans feel Beijing has dismantled their religion and culture while not giving the remote and largely impoverished area much in return, he said.

"Beijing has to be more accountable to its people," Thondup said. "Otherwise more Tibetans will stand up against them."

China's official Xinhua news agency said the riot-affected areas had been calm since late last week, when China poured armed police and troops in to prevent further unrest.

Thirteen people have been arrested for taking part in a March 10 protest with "reactionary" slogans and a banner.

China says the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising, premeditated the rioting -- a claim he has repeatedly denied.

The Dalai Lama has told Tibetans to stop rioting, Thondup said.