China raps Amnesty International

BEIJING, April 3 (UPI) -- A Chinese human rights group has accused Amnesty International of using the Beijing Olympics to pressure the country over the Tibetan unrest.

The China Society for Human Rights Studies says it opposes attempts "by any organization to put pressure on China using the Olympics," Xinhua reported. The Chinese group was responding to the London-based group's criticism of China's crackdown on the Tibetan unrest and its call to the International Olympic Committee and world leaders to pressure China, the state-run Chinese news service reported.

The non-governmental organization said Amnesty International has "all along held political prejudice against and a hostile attitude toward China."

Separately, Xinhua reported Chinese Public Security Ministry authorities had found large quantities of weapons, including guns, bullets, swords, dynamite and detonators, at several Tibetan temples. The ministry said the weapons were suspected to have been used last month during Tibetan protests against Chinese rule of their homeland.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, meanwhile, pledged the government will extend further support to poor areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, Xinhua reported.

"All ethnic groups form one big family. We must be united and help each other, to prosper and make progress together," Wen said.