DHARAMSHALA, INDIA - Leading Tibetan exiles are set to announce the outcome of a key meeting on how to fight Chinese rule in their homeland, after the Dalai Lama said his own approach had failed.

Nearly 600 delegates gathered at the exiles' base in north India for the week-long conclave, which focused on whether to drop the Dalai Lama's push for "meaningful autonomy" in favour of an unequivocal demand for independence.

"Tibetans are ready for change," said Lhadon Thethorg, a delegate and New York president of Students for a Free Tibet. "Whatever the conclusions are, the meeting has been a turning point."

All groups stressed their support for the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader, who fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

He has recently expressed frustration over his "middle way" policy -- in which he tried to negotiate with China -- saying it had run its course.

"Everyone reaffirmed the Dalai Lama's leadership," said Thethorg, whose group lobbies for independence. "But people are ready to take responsibility.

"Whether for 'middle way' or independence, people are calling for a more vigorous movement."

China on Friday moved to preempt any decision the meeting might take, accusing the Dalai Lama of covertly campaigning for independence.

In a commentary published by the official Xinhua news agency, the Dalai Lama's insistence that he is only seeking autonomy for Tibet was again flatly rejected.

"Its purpose is to set up a 'half independent' or 'covertly independent' political entity controlled by the Dalai clique on one quarter of the Chinese territory," the commentary said of the Dalai Lama's approach.

"And when conditions are ripe, they will seek to realise 'complete Tibet independence.'"

Among those at the talks backing a pro-independence stance was Tendon Dahortsang, 28, European president of Tibetan Youth Association.

"It's clear that dialogue is not working," she said. "This meeting is a first important step for change. We can't wait for China to change. We have to push for it."

However the discussions in the hill town of Dharamshala have also seen strong support for continuing with the "middle way."

"The Dalai Lama's policy is practical," Jamyang Jinpa, a 29-year-old monk attending the meeting, told AFP.

Earlier this month, the Dalai Lama asked his followers for guidance on contact with China.

"I have to accept failure," he said on a visit to Japan. "Suppression (in Tibet) is increasing and I cannot pretend that everything is OK."

In March, protests against Chinese rule in the capital, Lhasa, erupted into violence which spread to other areas of western China with Tibetan populations.

Tibet's government-in-exile said more than 200 Tibetans were killed in a subsequent Chinese crackdown.

Ahead of this week's debates, 17,000 Tibetans still living in China were consulted, said the speaker of the government in exile.

The meeting has no policy-making power -- any recommendations would need the approval of the exiled Tibetan parliament -- but lawmakers have vowed to follow its lead. --AFP