|
CHINA> Regional
![]() |
|
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".
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. |
主站蜘蛛池模板: 绥芬河市| 文水县| 河南省| 新津县| 鹤峰县| 方山县| 牡丹江市| 嘉荫县| 卢氏县| 乐昌市| 崇明县| 长治市| 永城市| 通化市| 宜黄县| 凤冈县| 井研县| 喀什市| 长白| 秦皇岛市| 白河县| 镇巴县| 大冶市| 荔波县| 晋城| 久治县| 阳谷县| 伊春市| 永川市| 贵定县| 普定县| 邢台县| 盐源县| 贵港市| 正宁县| 什邡市| 中方县| 青川县| 常熟市| 嘉义县| 新蔡县| 延吉市| 鄂托克前旗| 麦盖提县| 遵义市| 诏安县| 莒南县| 沙坪坝区| 古蔺县| 江山市| 丁青县| 阜平县| 城市| 庄浪县| 封丘县| 福海县| 舟曲县| 芦山县| 平山县| 海晏县| 揭西县| 康平县| 黄梅县| 仁化县| 巴中市| 家居| 桑植县| 衡南县| 和田市| 德钦县| 金平| 仁布县| 天长市| 兰溪市| 洮南市| 余江县| 大名县| 澄迈县| 安乡县| 合阳县| 罗甸县| 天峻县|