ANALYST VIEW: Riots in Tibet

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao accused the Dalai Lama of orchestrating riots in Tibet in which dozens may have died and said his followers were trying to "incite sabotage" of Beijing's August Olympic Games.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, has denied the charges and said he would resign as Tibetan leader if violence got out of control.

COMMENTARY

SIMON LITTLEWOOD, PRESIDENT OF CONSULTING FIRM "ASIA NOW"

IN SINGAPORE:

"There are economic difficulties in Lhasa along with much of China, where food price inflation has created a very difficult situation for the poorer members of society. I think it's a combination of factors but economics is a very important factor at this point.

"If you're at the bottom end of the social spectrum, a significant rise in the price of port and bread and other staples is very difficult, because it can mean the difference between eating and not eating. Tibet, although it's been significantly improved by Chinese investment, is still essentially a country of poor people.

"The notion that the Dalai Lama has any role to play in politics is just the height of self-delusion ... there's absolutely no possibility of any kind of compromise between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, that isn't going to happen."

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TONY KEVIN, ANALYST WITH AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY'S

SCHOOL OF PACIFIC AND ASIAN STUDIES:

He said the muted international reaction to China's crackdown was expected, given China's economic and strategic importance in the world.

"China ... as always with major powers, is subjected to different standards of human rights than less important countries.

"There's generally a passive view that China is too big and too hot to touch in any but formal and restrained ways. Everybody can jump up and down and get into a huge lather about Darfur and so on, but with China and Tibet, it's harder."

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WANG LIXIONG, A BEIJING-BASED DISSIDENT WRITER, PUBLISHED