Tibet officials 'prepare for war'

Officials in the Tibet Autonomous Region have been ordered to recognize the "grave situation" in maintaining stability and to ready themselves for "a war against secessionist sabotage," months before a major plenary session of the Communist Party of China.

The fight against the Dalai Lama clique is a "long-term, complicated and sometimes even acute" one, Chen Quanguo, regional Party chief of Tibet, was quoted by the Tibet Daily Thursday as saying.

"For those irresponsible officials who walk away from their duties, fail to implement policies or are found guilty of dereliction of duty in maintaining stability, they shall be immediately removed from their posts, pending punishment, regardless of how great the contributions they made in the past or what kind of position they held," Chen warned in a strongly worded speech.

Chen asked local officials to "improve the precautionary and emergency management mechanism," and ensure the government's ability to immediately and resolutely handle any emergency.

"We should make every effort to win the tough battle to maintain stability, and seize the initiative in our fight against separatism," Chen said.

Xu Zhitao, an official with the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, told the Global Times Thursday that "secessionists led by the Dalai Lama appeared more determined to plot conspiracies this year."

The Dalai Lama clique had claimed that they might carry out some schemes to wreck the upcoming Tibetan New Year, which falls on February 22 this year, according to Xu.

It has become routine to strengthen work to maintain stability in March, but the situation is particularly tense this year, Xu said, referring to the anniversary of the deadly riots in the region on March 14, 2008.

Unrest broke out in the regional capital Lhasa and later spilled into other Tibetan regions, leaving 19 people dead and many businesses, houses, and vehicles damaged or looted.

Xiong Kunxin, a professor with the Minzu University of China, said the further tightening could be related to a string of recent self-immolations in Tibetan areas of the provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai bordering Tibet.

"There are five regions that are inhabited by Tibetan people in China. Turbulence in one area can affect others," said Xiong, referring to Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces where Tibetan communities are located as well as Tibet itself.