The Dalai Lama said on Saturday he has given up on efforts to convince Beijing to allow greater autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule, a remark that was reinforced yesterday by a senior aide, Tenzin Taklha.
The Tibetan spiritual leader said he would ask the Tibetan people to decide on how to take the dialogue forward.
China has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama of leading a campaign to split Tibet from the rest of the country. The Dalai Lama has denied the allegations, saying he is only seeking greater autonomy for the Himalayan region to protect its unique Buddhist culture — a policy he calls the “middle way.”
PHOTO: AP
“I have been sincerely pursuing the middle way approach in dealing with China for a long time now but there hasn’t been any positive response from the Chinese side,” he said in Tibetan at a public function on Saturday in Dharamsala, the north Indian town that is home to the Tibetan government-in-exile.
“As far as I’m concerned I have given up,” he said in an unusually blunt statement.
“The issue of Tibet is not the issue of the Dalai Lama alone. It is the issue of 6 million Tibetans. I have asked the Tibetan government-in-exile, as a true democracy in exile, to decide in consultation with the Tibetan people the future course of action,” he said.
The Tibetan spiritual leader has called for a special meeting of Tibetan exiles in the second week of next month to discuss the future of the Tibetan movement.
“Because of lack of response from Chinese we have to be realistic, there is no hope,” Talkha said.
“His holiness does not want to become a hindrance to the Tibetan issue, and therefore has sent a letter to the parliament regarding what options he has,” the aide said.
However, the Dalai Lama is not going into retirement, Taklha also said.
Karma Cheophel, speaker for the Tibetan government-in-exile, earlier said the Dalai Lama had “hinted he is now on full retirement,” sparking some rumors in the Indian media.
The Dalai Lama’s candor is seen as a vindication for the many exiled Tibetans who say his conciliatory “middle way” approach to seeking greater autonomy has not worked.
“I think the statement by his Holiness is an eye opener for the Tibetan people,” said Tsewang Rigzin, the president of the Tibetan Youth Congress.
“We are not against the middle way approach of his Holiness, the fact is that China is not sincere and has never been sincere in talking about the middle way,” he said.
The Dalai Lama’s address on Saturday was his first public speech since undergoing gallstone surgery.
Taklha said he hoped the eighth round of talks between Tibetan envoys and Chinese officials will be held by the end of this month.
Those talks are still on track, said Chhime Chhoekyapa, another spokesman for the Dalai Lama.
The two sides have met to try to ease tension in Tibet since violent riots broke out there in March. Most Tibetans have supported the Dalai Lama’s push for autonomy for the region. However, many Tibetans, especially younger generations, see the talks as a Chinese ploy.
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