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Only 8% of Lhasa rioters sent to jail

By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-07 08:38

Only 76 of the 953 people detained for their involvement in last year's Lhasa riot received prison sentences, and the rest have all been released, a top official of the Tibet autonomous region said on Friday.

Those who were convicted received sentences ranging from less than five years to life, Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the autonomous region's government, told reporters at a panel discussion during the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing.

Most of those jailed were found guilty of theft, robbery, arson, disrupting public services or attacking government agencies, Puncog said. Only a few were convicted of "endangering national security".

Full coverage:  Tibet in 50 years Related readings:  March Lhasa riots won't repeat: Tibet official  Tibet always open to objective foreign reporters  Official: Situation in Tibet stable, riots unlikely  China to restore site as witness of sovereignty over Tibet

"Everything was conducted strictly according to the law. Every verdict was based on clear and strong evidence," he said.

Last year's violence left 18 people dead and injured 382 civilians and 241 police officers. Rioters set fire to 120 houses and 84 vehicles and looted 1,367 shops, causing US$47 million in economic losses, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Lhasa Mayor Doje Cezhug told reporters on Friday the local government had offered riot victims financial support of more than 20 million yuan (US$2.9 million), and helped to arrange about 12 million yuan (US$1.75 million) in low-interest loans for them.

Puncog said no major disturbances were expected in the region this year.

No extraordinary measures such as martial law would be enforced in Lhasa, with the city taking "usual and necessary" security measures during the anniversary of the riot and the celebrations to mark 50 years of Tibet's democratic reform, which emancipated millions from serfdom.

"I cannot swear that some individuals won't make reckless moves next week, but riots like those seen last March won't happen again," he said.

Puncog said that the region had applied for the deployment of more security forces. But he said that this was not because of last year's riot but was based on the region's real needs.

"Tibet covers a large area and more people are traveling in and out of the region. The current deployment of police and border defense forces is simply not enough," he said.

Kang Jinzhong, political commissar of the armed police force in Tibet, also said the deployment of armed police in Tibet was a normal practice, and there has been no "sudden increase" in their numbers in Tibet since last year's riot.

In response to a question about an alleged ban on foreign journalists visiting Tibet, Puncog said Tibet always welcomes foreign reporters, but they should work "in a just and objective way".

"I myself received quite a number of foreign reporters last year," he said.

However, the region would still have some special regulations on tourists and media coverage, due to the limits of the region's climate and geographic conditions, he said.