Monday, September 13, 2004
China holds first-ever anti-terrorist exercise in Tibet
Press Trust of India Beijing, September 13
China has held its first-ever anti-terrorism exercise in Tibet's capital, Lhasa to test the Himalayan region's capacity to counter possible hijacking and even a chemical attack by separatist elements, the state media reported on Monday.
The anti-terrorist manoeuvres, in the backdrop of increased terrorist acts around the world, was conducted on Sunday to check the region's responsive mechanism in case of terror attacks, Xinhua news agency quoted the organisers as saying.
The manoeuvres, which lasted about three hours, covered anti-hijacking, anti-explosion, anti-biochemical weapons and seizure of "terrorists", it said.
The local garrison of the People's Liberation Army, armed police, public security police and militia took part in the joint exercises, which came a day after the third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
The holding of the counter-terrorism exercise in Tibet was significant in the sense that China views the supporters of the exiled Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama as separatists, who are colluding with anti-China forces to separate the Himalayan region from rest of China.
The exercise also comes ahead of a visit to China by the envoys of the Dalai Lama to find a way to break the impasse on the vexed Tibet issue.
The spiritual leader's envoys, Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen along with senior assistants would visit China this week to have secret parleys with the Chinese side.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.