March 19 (Bloomberg) -- China's provincial government in Tibet said 105 activists surrendered to police after last week's riots in the regional capital, Lhasa, as the Dalai Lama appealed to authorities to show restraint and treat those arrested fairly.

Police offered leniency to people who turned themselves in after rioters killed 13 civilians and torched more than 300 buildings March 14, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported today.

The demonstrations are a ``spontaneous outburst of public resentment built up by years of repression,'' the Dalai Lama, Tibet's Buddhist spiritual leader, said in a statement.

China, which deployed troops in Tibet in 1950 and annexed the region a year later, blames secessionist supporters of the Dalai Lama for the violence. The protests are the largest in Tibet since pro-independence demonstrations in 1989 prompted President Hu Jintao, who was then head of the region's Communist Party, to declare martial law.

``Since the Chinese government has accused me of orchestrating these protests in Tibet, I call for a thorough investigation by a respected body'' that would include representatives of China and Tibet's government-in-exile, based in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala, the Dalai Lama said in yesterday's statement.

Tibet's problems must be solved through dialogue, he said, and called on ``the Chinese leadership to exercise the utmost restraint in dealing with the current disturbed situation and to treat those who are being arrested properly and fairly.''

Tibetan Uprising

The unrest began March 10 when Buddhist monks marched in Lhasa calling for an end to religious restrictions and the release of imprisoned colleagues. The demonstration marked the anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, after which the Dalai Lama fled to India.

Lhasa is now calm, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said at a briefing in Beijing yesterday, and accused the protesters of trying to undermine the Olympic Games scheduled for August.

``Lhasa will be reopened to the rest of the world, and we will certainly consider the possibility of organizing foreign media into Tibet to see on the ground what has happened,'' he said, without giving a timeframe.

China will continue to protect Tibetan culture and its natural environment, Wen said, rejecting charges by the Dalai Lama that his government is engaged in cultural genocide in the Himalayan region.

Tibetan Exiles

Tibetan exiles say about 100 protesters have been confirmed killed by security forces in the past week and many more may have died.

In China's Gansu province, 19 Tibetan protesters were killed yesterday, Thupten Samphel, spokesman for the Central Tibetan Administration, said by telephone from the northern Indian town of Dharamshala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based.

The Dalai Lama today held talks with five Tibetan organizations including the pro-independence Tibetan Youth Congress in an effort to stop their planned protest march to Tibet, said Tenzin Takhla, an aide to the spiritual leader.

``The Dalai Lama has appealed to the organizations to halt the march,'' Takhla said in a telephone interview from Dharamshala. ``It is up to these organizations to decide. The Dalai Lama made it clear that he is committed to democracy. However, he said he has no right to order them.''

The pro-independence Tibetan Youth Congress has called for a review of the 72-year-old Dalai Lama's ``middle way'' policy, which espouses non-violence and autonomy within China rather than independence, Agence France-Presse reported.

Ready for Talks

The Dalai Lama is ready to hold talks with China and is committed to non-violent settlement of the Tibet issue, Takhla said. ``He feels that the present problem can only be solved through face-to-face contact,'' the aide said. ``He is committed to a mutually beneficial solution and is ready for talks when the Chinese are.''

The Beijing Olympic organizers said today that the Olympic torch will be carried through Tibet as planned on June 19 and 20.

Preparatory work for the torch relay is ``going smoothly'' and officials are confident the Tibetan government can keep Lhasa secure, said Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the organizing committee for the Beijing games.

He said any protest is ``doomed to fail and won't win the hearts of the people.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 19, 2008 06:56 EDT