Beijing: Foreign journalists in China today urged the government to allow access to Tibet Autonomous Region to facilitate reporting on the situation following the clashes in Lhasa during pro-independence protests.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China said it had been informed that two dozen correspondents had been turned away or forced to leave Tibetan areas and some had been told that they had been barred due to police action.

Such interference is not keeping with the reporting regulations adopted during the Olympics period "and especially not in keeping with the international community s expectations of an Olympic host nation," Club President Melinda Liu said in a statement.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao however asserted that the government had nothing to conceal, adding, "every one is aware of what is happening".

The government has the responsibility to take necessary measures for security and safety of foreign journalists, he said.

"The local government has the right to take necessary steps to protect journalists," he said at a news briefing here.

"We hope to restore order and stability at an early date so that you will be able to go back to Lhasa," he told foreign correspondents.

Source : PTI