Special report: Tibet: Its Past and Present     

    ROME, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A renowned Italian scholar has accused some western forces of supporting the Dalai clique's attempts to split China and called on the international intellectual circle and the broad public to support China.

    In a letter of appeal posted on his website on April 11, Domenico Losurdo, a famous Italian historical philosopher and professor at University of Urbino, said a despicable campaign aimed at "demonizing China" is being carried out in some western countries.

    Leaders and plotters of this scheme are governments and some news media which are prepared to support and back a so-called preventive war similar to the Iraq war that has resulted in the death of thousands of people, the letter written in five languages-- French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian said.

    Under the banner of "autonomy," they support "Tibet independence." Once this conspiracy succeeded, they would eye Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia as well as some other regions in China as their next target.

    Their essential goal is to dismember the multiple-cultured China composed of 56 ethnic groups that came into being over many centuries, the letter went on to say.

    It added that during the March 14 riots in Lhasa, the capital city of China's Tibetan autonomous region, many innocent people, including the elderly, women and children, were killed. However, some western countries and news media did not say a single word about that.

    The letter noted that those western forces that have claimed to oppose extremism, on the contrary, have deliberately beautified the old Tibetan regime based on the feudal serfdom and theocracy and are committed to helping Tibet separatists build a "country" of a pure race and religion so as to weaken and disintegrate China.

    Since it was published, hundreds of famous scholars, journalists, media leaders, lawyers, politicians as well as ordinary netizens from countries like France, Spain, Italy and Algeria have signed their names or left messages to voice their support.