Beijing media attacks Dalai Lama over self-immolations
Spiritual leader denounced as a pawn of US and India - just weeks before the start of 'the International Year of Tibet Independence'
Beijing is ramping up the rhetoric against the Dalai Lama before 2013, which has been declared "International Year of Tibet Independence" by pro-independence activists, as state media launch a joint denunciation of the Tibetan spiritual leader.
Several state media outlets accused the Dalai Lama of encouraging innocent people to engage in self-immolation and said he was used as a pawn by Washington and New Delhi.
Tibetan affairs watchers have warned of a worsening situation in the Himalayan region and expect suppression by the authorities to increase.
Ma Lihua, a Tibetan affairs scholar and editor-in-chief of the state-run Tibetan Study Press, said: "It is the worst scenario in the region since the 1950s. It is unacceptable to see so many Tibetans commit self-immolation, and it only suggests a worsening of Chinese-Tibetan relations, no matter what the reason is behind such acts."
Tsering Woeser, a Tibetan activist and author, warned that the latest developments suggested that Beijing would take an even tougher line against those campaigning for Tibetan rights.
"The crackdown on Tibetans will last a long time and punishment will be severe," Tsering Woeser said.