Dalai Lama wants Tibetan violence to end

BEIJING, March 19 (UPI) -- China said Wednesday 105 Tibetans involved in the Lhasa protests had given themselves up, even as the Dalai Lama urged an end to the violence.

Quoting the Tibet regional government, the Xinhua news agency reported those who surrendered had been directly involved in the beating, smashing, looting and arson last Friday. One official said some had returned money they allegedly looted.

China has said 13 people died in the rioting asTibetans protested Chinese rule on the anniversary of their 1959 failed uprising. Tibetan exiles say several times that number were killed.

Chinese authorities had earlier said they would show leniency to those who surrender.

Separately, the report said a preliminary estimate showed 32 businesses had been damaged with losses exceeding $14 million.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in India since the 1959 uprising, Tuesday urged an end to the violence but reportedly dismissed Chinese accusations he was responsible for the unrest.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, responding to a question about other government leaders hosting the Dalai Lama, said China's policy all along has been that the Buddhist spiritual leader is "not a pure religious person" but a political refugee engaged in splitting China.