"Dalai Lama, followers inciting self-immolations by Tibetans"

Beijing, Mar 7: The twin immolations by Tibetan youth last week, including one in India, protesting against Chinese rule in Tibet were "instigated" by the Dalai Lama and his followers, a media report here said today.

"Over 100 self-immolation attempts by Tibetans in China since then, most of which killed young monks, were proved to have been masterminded and instigated by the so-called 'spiritual leader' and his followers. Their stereotype is to incite self-immolations, make an issue of them and solicit international support through media and political figures," an article in state-run Global Times said.

"Self-immolation is only conducted by a slim number of extremists who are used by separatists. Any attempt to split the country is not only doomed to fail, it is also not the desire of the majority of Tibetan people," it said.

A 16-year-old Tibetan student Dorjee Tsering set himself ablaze in Dehradun last week and died later. Around the same time, 18-year-old young Tibetan monk Kalsang Wangdu also immolated himself and died in Sichuan province.

"Both cases were soon spread by Tibetan separatist groups, and picked up by Western media. It's common to see self-immolation cases hyped in March as part of the agenda by Tibetan separatists," the article said marking the first time official media reported such incidents.

Overseas Tibetan groups say nearly 130 Tibetans committed self-immolations in recent years calling for the return of the Dalai Lama and to protest against Chinese rule in Tibet.

"Facts have revealed that the Dalai Lama, misperceived as a peace-loving monk in the West, planned the Lhasa riot on March 14, 2008 that killed 18 innocent people," Global Times articles said referring to revolts by Tibetan monks.

The twin immolations also coincided with the commencement of China's annual parliament season that kicked off last week. The National People's Congress (NPC) and advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) meet annually for a fortnight to clear legislative business.

PTI