By Benjamin Kang Lim

BEIJING, Feb 23 (Reuter) - China has blamed Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for unrest in the Himalayan region in recent years and vowed to close politically problematic lamaseries and jail separatist monks and nuns.

"Lamaseries where political problems often arise must be closed for restructuring and given a deadline to rectify," the February 15 edition of the official Tibet Daily, seen in Beijing on Friday, said.

"The legal responsibility of the small group of monks and nuns engaged in separatist activities must be investigated and they must be severely punished," said a statement by Tibet's Committee of Nationalities and Religious Affairs, carried on the front page of the newspaper.

The committee called for intensifying management of lamaseries and having monks, nuns and Buddhists undergo education on patriotism and socialism.

It accused the Dalai Lama, the 1989 Nobel Peace prize winner, of fomenting unrest in Tibet in recent years.

"For a period of time...a small group of monks and nuns... have engaged in lawbreaking, criminal activities; a small group of lamaseries have taken part in disturbances," it said.

"The Dalai Lama...is plotting 'Tibet's independence', plotting to restore feudal serfdom," the committee said.

China asserted sovereignty over Tibet after the 1949 communist takeover, sending troops to purge Tibetan feudalism and install socialism.

The Dalai Lama and thousands of followers fled to India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, but he continues to command the loyalty of many Buddhists in Tibet.

Tibet has been rocked by a series of often violent pro-independence protests since 1987 and China has jailed many monks and nuns who have spearheaded the movement to separate Tibet from China.

China is nervous about the influence in Tibet of the man many Tibetans regard as both their spiritual and temporal leader.

Beijing and the Dalai Lama have been at loggerheads since 1959, most recently over the reincarnation of Tibet's second holiest lama.

The Chinese-sanctioned search for the Panchen Lama was dogged by controversy in its final months last year after the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan search team came up with rival six-year-old reincarnations.

The Dalai Lama's announcement of the 11th Panchen Lama -- a boy found by the search team -- enraged Beijing which issued a stream of abuse against the exiled god-king, accusing him of interfering and of trying to split China.

The Tibet government warned this month of fresh attempts by the Dalai Lama to split the troubled Himalayan region from China and called for a renewed propaganda offensive against him.