China holds giant rally
stressing Tibet claim, rebukes Dalai Lama
AFP September 8,
2015
Beijing
(AFP) - China on Tuesday stressed Communist party control over
Tibet, with a senior official denouncing the Dalai Lama at a giant
ceremony condemned by rights groups.
Thousands of people
gathered in front of the iconic Potala Palace in the regional
capital Lhasa for an event billed as marking 50 years since the
founding of the administrative area of Tibet.
Crowd
members waved Chinese flags while "cheering like they were ushering
in a new year", the official Xinhua news agency
reported.
China
says its grants Tibet autonomy, but Beijing tightly controls the
region while no ethnic Tibetan has ever held its top Communist
post.
Many
Tibetans complain of restrictions on Buddhist traditions and
economic discrimination.
Beijing
denies repression and says its has brought economic
development.
Top
leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said in a message to
mark the anniversary: "Only by sticking to the CPC's leadership and
the ethnic autonomy system, can Tibetans be their own masters,"
Xinhua said.
Yu
Zhengsheng, one of China's seven highest-ranking Communist
officials as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, who
normally works in Beijing, vowed to continue a "crack down on all
kinds of separatist activities", Xinhua added.
China
brands the Dalai Lama and his supporters as "separatists" seeking
independence for the region, though the Tibetan spiritual leader
says he advocates greater self-rule.
Yu told
the crowd that "sabotage attempts" by the Dalai Lama and his
associates had been "foiled", without giving details.
After
Yu's speech more than 6,000 civilians, army and government staff
joined a parade "featuring singing, dancing and the release of
colourful balloons", Xinhua said.
Beijing
established the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965, 15 years after
Chinese troops took control of the area.
It
covers only some of the areas in which ethnic Tibetans have
historically lived, with the rest of the population divided between
several Chinese provinces.
"The
so-called Tibet Autonomous Region only covers about half of Tibet,"
the London-based Free Tibet group said in a statement.
It said
the anniversary celebrations were "imposed" on Tibetans by
Beijing.
"Tibet
is locked down: independent media, human rights organisations and
diplomats can’t travel there freely," the group added.
"If
Tibet’s people have a good news story to tell, why doesn’t Beijing
let them freely tell it."