China dismisses Tibetan Independence as a myth and farce

As Tibet ushered in its traditional New Year 'Losar' amid crackdown on self immolation protests, China today dismissed as "farce" the calls by overseas groups to observe it as 100th Tibetan Independence Day, saying the region has been under direct Chinese rule since 13th century. State-run CCTV played out a special programme to herald the Tibetan New Year, a day after the Chinese New Year. The Himalayan region remained tense for the past several months with over 95 to 100 self immolations by Tibetans calling for the return of the Dalai Lama. In the recent crackdown, 70 people were detained and nine including two Buddhist monks were given varied sentences. The state-run Xinhua news agency said there has been calls by foreign-based Tibetans groups to observe the New Year Day as '100th Independence Day'. "As Tibetans in China bask in festivity to celebrate the 'Water Snake Losar', or the Tibetan New Year's Day, some separatists are inciting commemorations of Tibet's so-called '100th Independence Day'", a Xinhua commentary said. Propaganda for the planned February 13 commemorations have appeared on websites of Students for a Free Tibet, a New York-based organisation of exiled Tibetans advocating "Tibet's independence", Tibetan Youth Congress as well as popular social networking sites such as Facebook, it said. "Such fanfare is just a farce in the present tense, and a slap in the face in retrospect of foreign aggression to China's modern history -- including that of Tibet", it said questioning their interpretation of history. "Solid" evidence the "Tibet independence" advocates cited was the so-called "Tibetan Proclamation of Independence", which they claimed to have been issued by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1913, (the present Dalai Lama predecessor), Xinhua said. MORE