Beijing ? The speaker of Tibet’s parliament-in-exile called Sunday for China to end its “brutal” crackdown against Tibetans and to allow independent observers into the isolated Himalayan region.

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao, however, said during a visit to Laos that the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, was “basically stable” and “social order has returned to normal.”

The Tibetan official, Karma Chophel, said at a news conference in Rome that the unrest was a response by Tibetans to China’s hard-line rule over the region, and not fomented by the Dalai Lama or other exiles.

“Those who know the true fact of the matter know that clearly this is a genuine outcry and outburst of Chinese misrule over the Tibetan people,” Chophel said. “Our demand is that (an) independent, neutral, unbiased, international group should go into Tibet and try to find out the real situation.”