Tibetans to stop protesting at Chinese embassies

By Benjamin Kang Lim

BEIJING (Reuters) - Tibet's government-in-exile has urged Tibetans living abroad to stop protesting outside Chinese embassies worldwide and raise money for victims of an earthquake which killed more than 40,000 people in southwest China.

After weeks of being vilified for a crackdown on rioting in Tibet, China is suddenly at the receiving end of international sympathy and goodwill as it grapples with the aftermath of the country's most devastating quake in 32 years.

"Tibetans across the world should shun staging demonstrations in front of the Chinese embassies in the respective host countries they live in at least until about the end of May," the government-in-exile said in a statement seen on its website (www.tibet.net).

"We should initiate solidarity actions by organizing prayer meetings and raising donations," the statement said, adding that exiled Tibetans should explore the possibilities of establishing Sino-Tibetan friendship associations through such programs.

Exiled Tibetans have staged almost daily protests outside Chinese embassies worldwide since hundreds were arrested in a crackdown in the wake of rioting in the Himalayan region in March, the worst since 1989.

China says about 20 "innocent" civilians were killed by mobs. The government-in-exile says more than 100 protesters were killed by Chinese troops. Hundreds of rioters have been arrested.

In protest at the crackdown, anti-Chinese activists dogged the international leg of the Olympic torch relay in April.

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