Courts in Tibet have so far meted out sentences to 76 people involved in the March 14 riot last year in the capital city of Lhasa, a senior Tibetan official said.

Nyima Cering, vice chairman of the standing committee of the Tibet regional People's Congress, made the remarks at a press conference Tuesday night.

The plateau city of Lhasa was rocked by serious rioting on March 14 last year, which was two weeks before the traditional Tibetan New Year.

He said the riot seriously affected China's sovereignty. "Any responsible government will surely resort to necessary means to safeguard its Constitution and sovereignty," he said.

He said the government had kept the maximum restraint and did not use anti-personnel weapons in handling the incident.

"Tibetan people are enjoying a good life now. There is no reason for them to forgo celebrating their traditional holiday this year," he said, in response to an underground campaign by some secessionists to boycott the festival to "mourn the dead of 2008."

There will be a week-long public holiday, starting on Feb. 23, in Tibet to celebrate the Tibetan New Year.

"Everything is back on track. Religious events have remained normal," said the Tibetan official.

Non Gyal, a monk from the Johkang Temple, attended the press conference. He said he was "misled by a group of people" to disrupt a media group, falsifying authorities had killed more than 100 people in Lhasa during the riot last year.

"I was neither taken into custody nor punished. My life and religious study have been normal," said the monk.

Tibet Vice mayor Cao Bianjiang said at the press conference that the city has taken security measures to combat sabotage attempts a year after the March 14 riots.

He also said that the government has reflected on the cause of the incident and meanwhile taken measures to comfort and assist those who were affected in the violence and to restore order in life and production.

"We hope for peace and stability in Lhasa. However, some people don't want to see Lhasa enjoy economic growth and people enjoy happy life," he said.

Nyima Cering reiterated his indignation that certain foreign governments, disregarding bilateral ties and Chinese people's feelings, conferred honor and titles on the Dalai Lama.

"They are merely using the Dalai Lama as a tool to encourage secessionist activities against China," he said, noting such acts have seriously interfered in China's internal affairs and damaged bilateral relations.

"It will do no good to their friendly relations with China and the Chinese people," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2009)