China says firearms found in Tibetan temple

BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - Chinese forces found firearms hidden throughout a Tibetan temple in an ethnic Tibetan area of southwestern China which has been the scene of anti-Chinese riots in recent weeks, state television said.

Police, responding to what they said was a tip-off from the public, found 30 firearms in the monastery in the Aba prefecture of Sichuan province last month, state television said in a report, a transcript of which was posted on the station's Web site (www.cctv.com).

"At the time these firearms were scattered around, some were where the monks keep the scriptures," policeman Lan Bo told the programme. "They were modified semi-automatic weapons."

Aba has seen confrontations between police and Tibetan protesters who, along with Tibetans in Tibet proper, have been protesting against China's rule and calling for the return of the exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.

Pro-Tibet protesters have also dogged the global torch relay for the 2008 Olympic Games to be hosted by Beijing.

The temple in which the weapons was found was named by the programme in Chinese as Geerdeng.

Jin Jichang, a government official in Aba, added that the weapons had been altered so they could fire military issued bullets.

"Their range of fire was approaching that of military bullets, and were almost as lethal as military bullets," Jin said.

On Saturday, state media said police had arrested nine Buddhist monks suspected of bombing a government building in Tibet.

China has accused Nobel Peace Prize laureate the Dalai Lama of orchestrating the violence in Tibet and other Tibetan areas of the country.

But the Dalai Lama has rejected the accusations, speaking out against the use of violence and calling for talks with China about the problems. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)