India joins calls for Tibet dialogue, more protests

By Alistair Scrutton

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India joined a chorus of calls for dialogue on Sunday after pro-independence protests in Tibet spilled over into street violence, while Japan urged Beijing to consider the implications on the Olympic Games.

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said that the international community had the "moral responsibility" to remind China to be a good host for the Olympic Games, but added that China deserved to host the Games in August.

China has declared a "people's war" of security and propaganda against support for the Dalai Lama underlining that it will not heed calls from around the globe for a lenient response to the riots.

Tibet's capital Lhasa was locked down on Sunday, two days after at least 10 people were killed in violent street protests. The contested region's government-in-exile said had killed 80 people.

The convulsion of Tibetan anger at the Chinese presence in the region came after days of peaceful protests by monks and was a sharp blow to Beijing's preparations for the Olympic Games in August, when China wants to showcase prosperity and unity.

Calling for calm, Japan's Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said: "I ask that the Chinese government give thorough consideration (to this) so that the Olympics will not be affected."

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said in an editorial that "China's tough response with power is against the Olympics spirit to promote world peace".

A spokesman for India's Ministry of External Affairs was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times that reports of the "unsettled situation and violence in Lhasa, and by the deaths of innocent people" were distressing.