Any secessionist attempt to sabotage Tibet's stability will not gain public support and will fail, Qiangba Puncog, Tibet Autonomous Regional Government chairman, told reporters in Beijing on Monday. He was remarking on violence in Lhasa on March 14.

The chairman said that the riot was the result of a conspiracy by followers of the Dalai Lama.

"People of all ethnic groups in Tibet have expressed their outright indignation and condemnation of the outrage," he said.

He told the media that the regional government had organized public security personnel, armed forces and other authorities to extinguish fires and ensure that injured people were hospitalized. The government had also stepped up security at schools, banks and government institutions and would clamp down on any violent activity under Chinese laws.

"All the measures we have taken are aimed at maintaining social stability, defending the country's laws and rules and protecting Tibetan people's rights and interests," Qiangba Puncog said.

He said that calm and social order had been restored in Lhasa.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 17, 2008)