No info on China's Tibet unrest claims: U.S. official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has not seen any evidence to support China's assertion that rioting in Tibet was planned and organized by the Dalai Lama, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday.

China's premier, Wen Jiabao, accused the exiled Tibet spiritual leader on Tuesday of orchestrating riots in which dozens may have died and said his followers were trying to "incite sabotage" of Beijing's August Olympic Games.

The Dalai Lama swiftly denied those accusations and called for an investigation, telling reporters in Dharamsala, India, that he would resign as leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile if violence veers out of control in Tibet.

"We don't have any evidence one way or the other on that score and I think you have to ask the spokespeople in Beijing what evidence they have to support that," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Christensen said.

"The information that we have from the Dalai Lama himself is that he's calling for peace and he's calling for restraint on the Tibetans. He's been critical of the violence," he told a U.S. congressional advisory panel hearing on China.

Washington was "encouraging China to reach out to the Dalai Lama and his representatives and to address the very long-term and very real grievances of the Tibetan people," Christensen told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Asked if the United States thought the violence in Tibet or the Chinese crackdown would affect the Beijing Olympics in August, he reiterated Washington's support for China's hosting the games and said there was no U.S. call for a boycott.

"The Olympics is an opportunity for China to put its best face forward and show progress to the world and we believe that progress is not only found on economic affairs but also on social affairs, human rights, rule of law and media freedom," Christensen said.

"We hope that the Olympics are successful, and to be successful they're going to have to address some issues while the world is watching," he added.

(Reporting by Paul Eckert, editing by Philip Barbara)