(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-26 15:11

Leading Chinese experts on Tibet held a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday in which they condemned the March 14 Lhasa violence and supported government efforts to restore order.

"We strongly condemn any person who organized, premeditated, incited and participated in the riot," Prof. Lhagpa Phuntshogs, general director of the China Tibetology Research Center (CTRC), said at the event, which was organized by the State Council's Information Office.

Lhagpa Phuntshogs said that researchers on Tibet affairs were angered and distressed about the riot that broke out in Lhasa on March 14.

"We fully support any proper measures taken by Chinese governments at all levels to maintain the social order of Tibet," he said.

Lhagpa Phuntshogs said that, under the instigation of backers of the Dalai Lama, some monks got involved in the riot. However, out of 46,000-strong monks in Tibet, only a very small number participated in beating and looting. Most temples had remained stable, and some monks even stood out to denounce the violence, he said.

"I myself am from Tibet, and as far as I know, many religious personnel in Tibet share the view that the monks who resorted to violence had broken religious precepts and should be punished," he said.