China's view of Tibet unrest comes under fire

TOKYO (Reuters) - China is wrong to blame supporters of the Dalai Lama for unrest in Tibet, the executive director of Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao earlier accused the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism of orchestrating riots in Lhasa in which dozens may have died and said his followers were trying to "incite sabotage" of Beijing's Olympic Games in August.

"It is too facile to attribute the unrest to some deep, dark conspiracy bred by the Dalai Lama," Kenneth Roth told reporters during a visit to Tokyo.

"A degree of introspection on the part of Beijing would be appropriate in understanding why the Tibetan people feel so repressed by China's restrictive policies," he said, adding that he was referring to controls on the right to free speech and freedom of association, as well as religious freedoms.

Roth called for more pressure on China over its crackdown on the protests, which Tibet's government-in-exile said led to 80 deaths. Chinese authorities said 13 "innocent civilians" were killed.

"We believe governments, including Japan, should insist that the police abide by international standards on policing, which specify that lethal force should be used only to prevent a risk to life or a risk of serious body injury," he added.

Roth also said that Human Rights Watch did not advocate a boycott of the Olympics.

"We don't believe that would be productive, given the popularity of the Olympics among ordinary Chinese people," he said. "But we do believe the Olympics provide an opportunity to encourage a positive evolution," he said.

Human Rights Watch plans to open an office in Tokyo in the hope of persuading the Japanese government to use its financial clout in Asia to pressure governments on human rights abuses.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Alex Richardson)