By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A government-managed visit by foreign reporters to Tibet's capital backfired Thursday when Buddhist monks disrupted the tour, screaming that there was no religious freedom and that the Dalai Lama was not to blame for Lhasa's recent violence.
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.
The outburst by a group of 30 monks came as the journalists, including an Associated Press reporter, were being shown around the Jokhang Temple - one of Tibet's holiest shrines - by government handlers in Lhasa.
"Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free!" yelled one young Buddhist monk, who then started to cry.