Berlin - Some 25 Tibetans were taken into temporary custody following an anti-Chinese demonstration in the southern German city of Munich on Monday. Police were called in after some of the protesters tried to force their way into the Chinese consulate-general and others spray-painted the walls with "Stop Killing in Tibet" and other slogans.
No-one was hurt in the protest, called by exile Tibetan groups to draw attention to what they called the excessive use of force by Chinese security forces to stamp out anti-Chinese sentiment in Tibet.
The German Society for Threatened Peoples called on the country's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to send a commission to Tibet to investigate the situation.
The organization accused the minister of giving the Chinese a free hand to carry out "ruthless persecution," just months ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The German government is opposed to a boycott of the Olympics in protest at China's response to the violence in Tibet, an official spokesman said Monday.
"A boycott would achieve nothing for the Tibetan people," spokesman Thomas Steg said, adding that dialogue was the best means to improve the situation for Tibetans.
An unscientific poll by the commercial German news broadcaster n-tv Monday found 90 per cent of respondents in favour of a boycott.
Over the weekend, Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed concern at the violence, although she came out against a boycott.
"Violence, irrespective which side it comes from, will not lead to solutions to the outstanding issues," Merkel, who maintains close ties with the Dalai Lama, said.
She called for both the demonstrators and the Chinese security forces to show restraint and to respect the rights of individuals.
Merkel, whose talks with the Dalai Lama in September 2007 caused an extended chill in Germany's relations with China, repeated her call for the Chinese government to engage in direct talks with the exiled Tibetan religious leader.
The German Foreign Ministry has issued a travel warning for Tibet in response to the protests.
