11. Feb 2009
So far 76 sentenced for 2008 unrest in TAR
(Xinhua) The official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, reports that courts in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) have so far sentenced 76 people involved in the March 2008 events in Lhasa, a senior Tibetan official said. Nyima Cering, vice chairman of the standing committee of the Tibet regional People's Congress, made the remarks at a press conference but gave no other details regarding trials and sentences. He claimed "any responsible government will surely resort to necessary means to safeguard its constitution and sovereignty". He said the government had shown restraint and did not use anti-personnel weapons in handling the incident. "Tibetan people are enjoying a good life now. There is no reason for them to forgo celebrating their traditional holiday this year", he said, in response to an underground campaign to boycott the festival to "mourn the deads of 2008".