Monks disrupt tour of journalists to Tibet

Editor's note: CNN was denied permission to join the group of reporters to Tibet by China's foreign ministry.

LHASA, Tibet (AP) -- A group of monks disrupted a government-managed tour by foreign reporters to Tibet's capital on Thursday, screaming there was no religious freedom and that the Dalai Lama was not to blame for recent violence there.

The outburst by about 30 monks came as the journalists, including an Associated Press reporter, were being shown around the sacred Jokhang Temple by government handlers in Lhasa.

"Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free!" yelled one young Buddhist monk, who then started crying.

They also said their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, had nothing to do with recent anti-government riots by Tibetans in Lhasa, where buildings were torched and looted, and ethnic Han Chinese were attacked.

The government has said the March 14 riots were masterminded by "the Dalai clique," Beijing's term for the Dalai Lama and his supporters.

Government handlers shouted for the journalists to leave and tried to pull them away during the protest.

The government had arranged the trip for the reporters to show how calm Lhasa was after the deadly riots shattered China's plans for a peaceful run-up to the Beijing Summer Olympics.