'Over 100 Tibetans surrender in Lhasa'

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Keywords: tibet, china

Lhasa: More than 100 people surrendered themselves to police and admitted involvement in the deadly clashes last week between police and anti-Chinese protesters in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

Tibet's regional government said 105 people had turned themselves in to authorities by 11 pm on Tuesday (1715 GMT), Xinhua said.

The number of people killed in Friday's clashes remained in dispute. The Tibetan government in exile said at least 80 people were killed by Lhasa police, but local authorities - and Xinhua - said only 13 people died.

Authorities had urged those who participated in the protests to turn themselves in, offering them leniency if they did.

"Those who surrender and provide information on other lawbreakers will be exempt from punishment," Xinhua quoted a police notice as saying.

Doje Cering, 25, told Xinhua he smashed a red car and a white van with stones during the protests. He said he was drunk at home when he heard someone shouting at him to get out or they would burn down his house. He told Xinhua he blindly followed them.

"I was very disturbed by what I did," another protester, 53-year-old Gyaincain, told Xinhua. "My family has persuaded me to give in to police."

Baema Chilain, vice-chairman of the regional government, told Xinhua some people had turned in money they had looted.

A preliminary investigation showed the violence caused losses exceeding 99.1 million yuan, or about $14 million, as of Tuesday night, Xinhua said, citing the regional department of commerce.

Earlier Tuesday, police arrested dozens of people during demonstrations by Tibetan exiles in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu who said they are upset about the treatment of the protesters in Tibet.

Tuesday marked the second day of arrests of Tibetan exiles in front of the United Nations' offices in Kathmandu.

"Altogether 54 Tibetans were arrested for obstructing traffic in front of the U.N. offices," police spokesman Sushil Bar Singh Thapa said.

Tibetan exiles had gone to the U.N. office to ask the international body to put pressure on the Chinese government to "allow demonstrators to exercise their right to freedom of expression and assembly" and "release all Tibetans who have been arrested or detained," protesters said.