"There are armed police officers patrolling the streets, 24 hours out of every 24, every day," said an employee of a city centre hotel, speaking by telephone.

"We must carry our identity papers and our residence permits if we want to go out," said the employee, who asked not to be named.

Another hotel employee said that hotels had not received any foreign guests since the end of last year. In any case, "most shops and bars must close before 11:00 pm," he said.

Stephanie Brigden, director of the London-based Free Tibet Association, denounced what she called "de facto martial law" in Lhasa and its surrounding areas.

According to exiled groups, 203 Tibetans were killed during last year's unrest, mostly by Chinese troops, which began in Lhasa on March 14 before spreading to other areas of western China with Tibetan populations.

For the past several weeks China has deployed a heavy security presence in Tibet and neighbouring provinces to head off any unrest ahead of two significant anniversaries this week.

In addition to the March 14 anniversary, March 10 marked the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule which led to Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fleeing the Himalayan region for India.

China's official media largely ignored Saturday's anniversary, with state news agency Xinhua and CCTV reporting on the difficulties and prospects facing businesses in Lhasa.

Xinhua also published an account of a memorial service in Lhasa for five young women shopkeepers -- four Han Chinese and one Tibetan -- who it said died in one of 908 shops torched by rioters last year.

However, Zhang Qingli, a daily newspaper published by the Communist Party in Tibet, called on soldiers "to rout once and for all the Dalai Lama clique's plot to divide the fatherland and sow disorder in Tibet."

On Friday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao rejected allegations that last year's riots reflected the failure of Beijing's policy on Tibet.

"It is a fact that Tibet's peace and stability and continued progress have proven that the policies we have adopted are correct," Wen told a press conference.

On Tuesday, the March 10 anniversary, the Dalai Lama launched one of his fiercest verbal attacks on Beijing and its rule of Tibet in many years, accusing China of making his homeland "hell on earth".

"Even today Tibetans in Tibet live in constant fear," he said in a speech at his exile base in Dharamshala, northern India.

"Their religion, culture, language, identity are near extinction. The Tibetan people are regarded like criminals, deserving to be put to death."

China has ruled Tibet since 1951 after sending in troops to "liberate" the region the previous year.

However, the 73-year-old Dalai Lama still retains enormous support among the roughly six million devoutly Buddhist Tibetans who live in China, despite Beijing's efforts to demonise him.

burs/pst

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