By Emma Graham-Harrison LHASA, China, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Fresh unrest in Tibet can not be ruled out nearly a year after riots in the capital Lhasa, because exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is determined to foment trouble, regional officials said on Tuesday. Cao Bianjiang, deputy mayor of the Himalayan city, said he was focused on fostering growth that would ensure stability, but exiled Tibetans were scared this would make them irrelevant. "There are some people who do not want to see the peaceful development of Lhasa's economy," Cao said, after criticising the Dalai Lama and his supporters. "So it cannot be entirely avoided that some people continue to cause disturbances," he told a news conference in the Tibetan regional capital during a government-organised and tightly controlled visit by a small group of foreign reporters. March will mark the anniversary of protests against Chinese rule in Lhasa and in Tibetan communities across the plateau, and the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight into Indian exile. A week of demonstrations in Lhasa erupted in violence in March last year when a Tibetan crowd burned shops belonging to Han Chinese and Hui Muslims, killing 19 people. Thousands of Tibetans were rounded up in the following crackdown across the region. Exiled Tibetan groups say many were beaten and some killed in the crackdown. Officials pinned the blame on the Dalai Lama, saying he still sought an independent Tibet and hoped the unrest in Lhasa would draw international attention to his cause. "The biggest challenge for Tibet is the disruption and sabotage of the Dalai Lama and his group. The more chaotic Tibet becomes the better he feels. This is not good for the fundamental interests of the people in Tibet," said the deputy head of the regional parliament, Nyima Tsering. The Dalai Lama, who is still revered by many Tibetans, denies the charges. Analysts overseas say the rioters were driven more by frustration at waves of Chinese migrants, restrictions on their culture, and their economic exclusion. The local government has tried to calm tensions and stamp out trouble by chasing those responsible for the March rioting, and compensating victims, Cao said. "We have taken other measures, for example punishing illegal elements. You can't let these things happen in front of your eyes with no impact." Some 953 people have been officially detained and 76 convicted over the violence so far, Tsering said, though activists put the number higher. (Editing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Masked protesters look towards Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) personnel during a protest in Srinagar February 10, 2009. More than a dozen protesters and police personnel were injured when protesters started ...
