Visas denied in 'control measures' ahead of 14 March, the date in 2008 when Tibetans began attacking ethnic Chinese

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Chinese authorities have closed Tibet to foreign visitors as the third anniversary of anti-government riots approaches.

The region's top official confirmed the restrictions after travel agents reported orders not to arrange trips for tourists, who need a special permit to visit the region in addition to the visa for China.

Zhang Qingli, the Communist party secretary in Tibet, said there were "some control measures" for safety reasons, citing potential overcrowding and freezing winter weather.

He told reporters at an annual political meeting in Beijing that the region was stable. "It's not that the anti-Chinese forces and the Dalai clique haven't thought of it but the fact is they haven't been able to stir up any unrest since the March 14 incident."

Twenty-two people, almost all Han Chinese, died when Tibetans took to the streets of the capital, Lhasa, in 2008, burning shops and attacking passers-by. Unrest rippled out across other Tibetan areas in western China.

Exiles allege that scores of Tibetans died in the ensuing crackdown. It has not been possible to verify the claims.

The government blamed the unrest on the Dalai Lama, accusing him of seeking a separate state. He says he wants only meaningful autonomy.

Both Beijing and the exile community in Dharamsala, India, are manoeuvring in preparation for the day when the 76-year-old no longer leads the exiles.

Qiangba Puncog, formerly the region's governor and now head of the National People's Congress, said the exiled leader retained religious but not political influence.

"Of course there will be some small shockwaves [when he dies] due to religious factors, but we will take that into consideration and will surely guarantee long-term political stability in Tibet," he told reporters at the rubber-stamp parliament's annual meeting in Beijing.

The Dalai Lama has suggested that his next incarnation could carry out spiritual duties while another figure takes on his temporal role. He has talked about new ways to determine his successor and suggested there could be a referendum on the subject.

The current governor of Tibet dismissed breaks with tradition. "We must respect the historical institutions and religious rituals of Tibetan Buddhism," said Padma Choling.

"I am afraid it is not up to anyone whether to abolish the reincarnation institution or not."

Beijing has for several years insisted it has the right to approve the reincarnations of senior Tibetan lamas and even determine whether or not they are born again. It has said the next Dalai Lama will be born within China.

But he has suggested that since he expects to die in exile he will surely be reincarnated in exile.

That raises the prospect of two Dalai Lamas – one chosen by China, the other by the exile community.

In 1995 the Dalai Lama named a young boy in Tibet as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest monk in Tibetan tradition. But he was rejected by Beijing and has not been seen since. Authorities announced that a search committee had chosen another boy, whom many Tibetans refuse to recognise.