The Tibetan Government-in-Exile has said that at least that 99 Tibetans have been killed in unrest over the past week, including 19 Tibetans who were shot dead by security forces Tuesday in new protests in Gansu province.

This news comes as China admits that Chinese police opened fire and wounded four protesters last Sunday in a Tibetan area of Amdo (Sichuan province). The Chinese government has claimed that police acted “in self-defence”. This is the first time China has admitted using lethal force, after earlier claiming that they had “not fired a single shot”.

Chinese state controlled media has also reported that the Tibetan capital Lhasa is “returning to normal after riots”. The government Xinhua news agency also said that 105 people involved in Friday’s riots had ‘surrendered’ to police.

Read an in-depth analysis of the current events in Tibet published in the Sydney Morning Herald

UK PM Gordon Brown: I Will Meet Dalai Lama
“I made it absolutely clear that there had to be an end to violence in Tibet,” Mr Brown said. “I also called for restraint and I called for an end to the violence by dialogue between the different parties. … I will meet the Dalai Lama when he is in London.”

In a rare show of consensus within the UK Parliament, opposition conservative party leader, David Cameron, welcomed Mr. Brown’s decision to meet with the Dalai Lama.

“Can I congratulate the prime minister on making absolutely the right decision with regard to the Dalai Lama, this is a difficult decision but it wouldn’t have made any better by delaying it,” Cameron said.

Pope Appeals For Dialogue
Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday appealed for dialogue and tolerance between Chinese and Tibetans, expressing “sadness and pain” over the violence in Tibet.

During his weekly audience at the Vatican, the pope admonished that “with violence you don’t solve problems but only make them worse” and prayed for a peaceful resolution after last week’s protests.

“My heart … feels sadness and pain for the suffering of so many people,” Benedict told a crowd of faithful, praying that God will
“give everyone the courage to choose the path of dialogue and tolerance.”

ATC has requested that that churches across Australia include a short prayer for the people of Tibet in their Easter Service.