Tibet courts dealt "heavy blow" to separatists in 2013: report

Tibetan courts dealt a "heavy blow" last year to anti-China separatist movement in the remote Himalayan region, handling 20 cases involving national security, but the fight remains "grave", a report said today.
During the past two years, Tibet experienced tensions over a series of self-immolations by Buddhist monks as well as people in different areas protesting the Chinese rule and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama who is currently on exile in India.
Over 100 self-immolations have been reported and several Tibetan activists were arrested and prosecuted for instigating immolations.
Courts in the Tibet region heard 20 cases last year in which defendants were accused of endangering national security, state-run China Daily quoted a report released yesterday by Tibet's top judge Sodar.

Sodar, who like many Tibetans uses just one name, said judicial authorities in 2013 dealt "a heavy blow" to separatist activities and those that sought to sabotage and threaten national security.
Zhang Peizhong, chief prosecutor of Tibet, told local legislature yesterday that prosecution departments in the region have waged a war against crimes related to national security.

Chairman of the Tibet regional government Lobsang Jamcan said the general situation in the fight against separatism remains "grave" - and the task of safeguarding stability is "tough and heavy".
Sodar said this year authorities will bust underground organisations that make use of religious influence as well as organised gangs, and "leave no room for separatists to facilitate the society's long-lasting and comprehensive stability".

Tibet and ethnically Tibetan parts of western China have been under heavy security since a wave of unrest against Chinese rule in 2008 ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
Beijing considers Dalai Lama as a separatist and has also refused new talks with his representatives unless he abandons his quest for Tibetan independence.