Tibet Daily, a leading newspaper in the Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China, has condemned the Dalai Lama and his supporters for their continued support of secession by violent means while waving the banner of "peace".

After the March 14 riot in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, in southwest China, the Dalai Lama sent his personal representatives to talk with the Central government in Beijing.

In the talks, Dalai Lama's representatives promised not to support the following: any activities against the Beijing Olympiad; any plots organizing violent criminal activities; the violent "Tibet Youth Congress"; and any advocacy and activities in favor of secession, said the paper.

But the secessionists had failed to keep their word, said the paper, referring to a series of incidents in August, such as the disruption and disturbances in front of Chinese missions in foreign countries to threaten the security of the Chinese diplomats, involving over 16,000 Tibetans, and a number of foreigners employed by secessionists to protest in Beijing.

It also blamed secessionists for organizing three terrorist attacks involving explosives in the Qamdo Prefecture, in the eastern part of the autonomous region, adjoining Sichuan Province.

According to the paper, since July 28, the "Tibet Youth Congress" had launched a series of "hunger strikes" in New Delhi, India, and on August 7, they started the second stage of the Tibetan People's Uprising Movement.

On August 13, the Dalai Lama confessed at the French parliament that Tibetans might have carried out violent acts. But he did not condemn them. This proved that the Dalai Lama and his supporters are behind the violence, the commentary said.

The paper recalled what secessionists had done over the past five decades, ranging from the 1959 armed riots in Tibet, armed attacks in the 1960s-70s, and the 1989 riots in Lhasa.

The paper also had a brief look back on the terrorist history of the "Tibet Youth Congress" since it was founded in 1970. The terror group held training courses on the use of explosives. In January 2007, secessionists claimed that it had trained 450 activists. In April this year, the police received tips from monks and lay people, and captured a large number of weapons from temples in Tibet and elsewhere.

Since the 1980s, the secessionists have tried to internationalize the "Tibet Question" and have advocated non-violence to entice support from the international community, but they have never stopped their activities to pressure people and local governments in Tibetan-dominant areas.

(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2008)