Anant, London said:

"the interim government denies the Tibetans the right to peaceful protest"

If you look around, Tibetan protests in India, Nepal & elsewhere were never peaceful. They needed to be manhandled and beaten to respect the law. In Tibet it resulted in deaths. Is it peaceful?

Lim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Lim, I hope so. But there are double standards here. We have many human rights groups in Nepal like the unfortunately monikered HURPES. They made a hue and cry during the democracy protests but remain silent when the interim government denies the Tibetans the right to peaceful protest

Anant, London,

The next time a bunch of Welsh hooligans go on the rampage in Cardiff hurling rocks and setting fire to shops, lets boycott British goods and demand independence from England!

Les H, Zhangzhou, China

Ven. J.M. Dharmakara Boda

This issue concerns giving the Tibetans some autonomy in their own land not whether traditional Tibetan Buddhism is in your (presumably Theravadin) opinion orthodox or not.

Ian, Mansfield, GB

I don't see how just revealing the sentencing phase is an "open trial". Are trials for the murderers of Tibetans coming soon?

Also, writers at the Times, please stop insulting the Tibetans by using the sinicized versions of their names. The people in question are Palzang and Sonam Tsering.

Konchog Norbu, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

ive been to a court in china to sue a chinese person who ripped me off. the courts are biased towards chinese, money paid to the leader fo the court reflects the outcome, there is no fairness and none of the tibet people will have recieved a fair trail. the chinese legal system is a joke.

william gibbons, beijing, china

It's time for the pro-Tibet camp to stop playing the role of victim. By what measure does one even consider Tibetan tradition and its theocracy to be in accord with the Buddha-dharma?

The Buddha was a prince who gave up his kingdom, while Tibetan theocracy is the safe haven of hungry ghosts.

Ven. J.M. Dharmakara Boda, Los Angeles, California USA

I agree we must not forget that Han Chinese where killed in this riot and these murders can never be condoned.

However the build up of tension which surely triggered this riot would never have happened if the Chinese government had listened to the grievances of the Tibetans.

Mike, Nottm, UK

Please give a little bit conscience to those who were killed by them as you respect their religion. If they were sentenced just because they protested peacefully without any violent behavior which caused others death, I will blame this court as well.

Jack, Sheffield,

may I add to Sarah from Melbourne...
"we the world will be watching..."
AND DOING NOTHING!!

As usual.

me , london, UK

Yes, let us support the great boycott. You can support the boycott of China-made goods and the Beijing Olympics. We in turn can boycott Western goods and supermarkets. At this rate, both sides can look forward to returning to the Stone Age where Osama b Laden will be rubbing his hands with glee.

Yang, Shanghai, China

What about the civilians who were burned alive? Do they deserve no justice? It wasn't the police who set the fires it was the protesters.

John, Burlington, VT

yes, USA invaded Mexico too, all .....the americans need to blame themselves first and foremost. They invades Irach first as well, not the other way around

Alex, London, UK

ALEX, LONDON, UK

While I agree that criminal behaviour of rioters should be punished appropriate to the law, surely people are missing part of the issue. Whether Tibet is Chinese or not, the Tibetan ethnicity are not allowed to express their views or pursue goals politically. Thugs take advantage of their anger.

Zhonguo, UK,

The US with 1/4 of the population of China has 2 million in prison. Whereas China has 1.6 million people in prison. So who has the kangaroo courts?

keith, HK,

Who would have thought that a peaceful monk could cause such a threat to mighty China that they would feel the need to jail him for life. So much for human rights in China and so much for the Olympic sham.

John, Chichester, UK

It's all very well for the Chinese to punish those who took part in the riots but will they address any of the grievances that caused the riots in the first place?.

I suspect not, they will just blame the 'Dalai Clique' in the puerile way they usually do.

Ian, Mansfield, GB

Anant, London, said:
"Now we will be getting a new Maoist government who no doubt will kow-tow to China's every whim."

The Maoist government will take China as a role model. It will bring development and progress which Nepal has never seen before. Just hope the west will not interfere.

Lim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Obviously it's not a peaceful protest, they were destroying properties and killing innocent civilians. It is true China do have human right problems, but what happens if you do the same thing here, lead 20 people to burn a police station in UK?

Enoch, Leicester, UK

A good move by the Chinese authorities. Property damage, burning, and killing by these 'peaceful' monks of Buddhism without the support of the Dalai Lama should ring some alarms to each and every one of us. They are anarchists and should be punished accordingly as they would be in the west.

Andreas Andreou, Nottingham, UK

Mark of Cairo: it's life sentence for murdering, not rioting. Incredibly, you are still ignorant of what happened in Lhasa. Civilians were ethnically targeted in a planned rampage, and five were burnt alive. Just because you dislike China doesn't mean they cant protect its people.

Jay, Toronto,

Where is the justice for the civilians burned alive?

It was the protesters who started the fires not the communists.

John, BurlingtonVT, USA

Looks like we have different terms here.Someone calling change of governments by force,like Chinese took over the country from old government,even we are still the same people,is "invasion";and calling one country attacking another country,like what happens in Iraq,is "liberation" rather "invasion".

Rui, Sheffield, UK

To Wags of Austin

You should study your history, Tibet was a warrior state over 2700 years ago.
Tibet invaded China at that time long before they had religion, they also invaded Burma and Nepal.
China and Tibet were unified under the invasion of Ghengis Khan who was a Mongolian not Chinese.

Ian Wass, Shaoyang, China (teaching)

In USA, you obey USA law and order. Three police men are not guity by the judge and the jury, as they shot an innocent black man with 50 bullets. In China, you should obey the current Chinese government law, simple as that. A conspiracy vs a coordinated attach on Chinese embassy on the same day?

A Chinese, Melbourne, Australia

I wish there was a strong political leader who can say "enough is enough" and take action to combat this obvious problem!

S, Leeds,

I'm embarrassed by my government in Nepal.

But then they were self-appointed after riding on the crest of the "Loktantra" mass democracy movement, which ultimately saw the "feudal" king stand down.

Now we will be getting a new Maoist government who no doubt will kow-tow to China's every whim.

Anant, London,

Cameron form London may find the following website useful:
http://www.boycottmadeinchina.org/.

Governments care more about doing business with the Chinese regime than they care about human rights.
Only we, the consumers, can really help the victims of Chinese oppression by boycotting China.

Dilip Dhokia, Bradford, UK

It is well done ! these mobs should be executed because they killed ordinary chinese in tibet in China. I think that China government is too humanistic to these.

mark, Hamilton, New zealand

The sentence might be a little harsh, but fair enough considering these people went on a rampage that ended with the injuries/deaths of innocent civilians. Try rampaging like that in the UK, flip cars, burn shops, trash buildings, attack people of a particular ethnicity, see how many years you get.

Dan, Melbourne, Australia

I support the Chinese government to enforce the law and sentenced the criminal rioters. They were not peaceful protesters.

David, San Jose, USA

The madness of it all ... life for rioting ... boy what happens if you murder someone ... lock up your mother for life.

Mark, Cairo,

One World? One Dream? Which world and which dream are they talking about???

Shantanu, Kolkata, India

Wherever possible, I will boycott all Chinese-made products and Chinese businesses, including restaurants. I hope that someone more internet-knowledgeable than me starts an online "Boycott-China" website.

Cameron, London, UK

Can we, in all conscience , continue to support China's economy by buying cheap goods and participate in "goodwill" games this summer while the regime locks up protesting monks and squashes Tibet's culture?

Dave, Durham, UK

kangaroo courts,all...the Chinese need to blame themselves first and foremost. They invaded this country first,not the other way around.

waggs, austin, usa

The time will come for both countries, and we the world will be watching.

Sarah, Melbourne, Australia

Chinese Communists are the great threat to World Peace - Will their people ever be tols about their repressive political sentences which they are dishing out.
Boycott China and everything Chinese - don't help this murderous regime any further.

Richard, Kiev, Ukraine