There have not been any clashes between police and civilians in Aba County, nor have there been any casualties, said Wang Jun, the chief of the county in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Friday, refuting previous foreign media reports that two Tibetans were killed by police.

Previous foreign reports said that two Tibetans were beaten to death during clashes with police earlier this month in Aba, where the Kirti Monastery is located.

According to a government statement released on Thursday, instead of two Tibetans reportedly killed by police, one 86-year-old Tibetan woman died of lung disease.

"A report from the county police bureau showed that neither police-civilian clashes nor casualties occurred," Wang said.

"The Kirti Monastery was never suppressed," said living Buddha Dokhar, who presides over the monastery's management committee.

"Monks here are doing Buddhist rituals, chanting prayers for the dead, just like they always do. They are also learning doctrines and Chinese laws and regulations on religious affairs," said the living Buddha.

According to him, many Tibetans in Aba have heard rumors that the government had transferred hundreds of the monastery's monks out of town.

"However, they (Tibetans) came to the monastery but found that the monks are still here, chanting," he said.

All monks at the Kirti Monastery are learning the basics of the Chinese Constitution, the Criminal Law and regulations on religious affairs after the government decided to enforce legal education there following the tragic death of Rigzin Phuntsog, a 16-year-old monk who set himself on fire on March 16.

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