Lhasa, Tibet - Beijing laid siege to at least three monasteries in Tibet today, leaving monks trapped with dwindling food supplies, as the biggest anti-Chinese demonstrations in nearly two decades intensified.
Monks at Ganden monastery, located on a hilltop near the regional capital Lhasa, were reported to have started a hunger strike to protest against the deployment of armed paramilitary police, who continued to surround them today after being sent in to restore order yesterday.
Soldiers were today also reported to have been stationed around the Sera and Drepung monasteries. Drepung, in particular, was surrounded by "three layers" of army personnel, a witness told the AP news agency, while the Sera monastery was surrounded by more than 2,000 police.
The protesters had taken to the streets to demand greater religious freedom before the Beijing Olympics in August and to show their support for the exiled Dalai Lama.
As protests continued in China, police in neighbouring India dragged away more than 100 exiles as they tried to march to their homeland to coincide with the start of the Olympic Games.
Indian officials - apparently fearing the march would embarrass China - banned the exiles from leaving the Kangra district that surrounds the city of Dharmsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile in India.
Meanwhile in Tibet senior officials called meetings with local politicians to remind them not to take sides with the monks, as the Chinese government intensified its crackdown in Lhasa.
Reading out a prepared document to staff, the officials outlined details of the protests that erupted on Monday, with a march by 500 monks from Drepung monastery on the outskirts of the city.
One resident quoted the statement as saying: "These incidents pose a grave challenge to the long-term stability of Tibet."
The notice described as "very serious" the demonstrations that spread to the Jokhang temple in the heart of the city, the nearby Sera monastery on Tuesday and to Ganden monastery a day later. All staff of government offices and state entities were banned from visiting religious institutions where unrest had erupted.
They were also forbidden from talking about the protests, which the government has dubbed the "310 and 311 incidents" because they occurred place on March the 10th and 11th.
Many residents of Lhasa called their children studying in cities in other parts of China to urge them not to take part in any unrest for fear of reprisals.
The government notice did not specify the punishment for those who defied the ban, but Tibetans know that the usual penalties are dismissal from their state jobs or withdrawal of salaries.
The demonstrations coincided with continued marches around the world today to mark the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule in the remote region from which the Dalai Lama and many followers fled to India and tens of thousands of Tibetans were killed.
In India, the marchers heading for Tibet were stopped by police today in the town of Dehra, about 12 miles from the Kangra district boundary.
Protesters resisted arrest by sitting or laying down, but they were hauled away into police buses. They were reported to have shouted "Free Tibet!" and other slogans, and some wept as they were taken away.
Senior police official Atul Fulzele said the protesters had been charged with threatening the region’s "peace and tranquillity." In the past, protesters charged with the offence have been released after formally pledging not to carry on demonstrating.
Several protesters began a hunger strike within hours of being arrested, Tenzin Palkyi, a march coordinator, told AP. They were joined by nine foreigners, including Leanne McKenzie, a British woman from Ayrshire in Scotland.
Ms McKenzie said: "We all got put in the van and they took us to the police station, where they took the Tibetans in and put the Westerners aside as they didn’t want the trouble of arresting us."
The Scot said she did not know how long the hunger strike, being staged outside the police station in Dehra, would last. But she said: "We will probably continue for however long the monks do. The monks are the core marchers.
"We have no idea how long it will last as everything is really big and everyone is really emotional at the moment. We don’t know how long this is going to go on for. We will just wait and see what happens."