“If things become out of control then my only option is to completely resign,” Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader told a news conference in the north Indian town of Dharamsala, the seat of his government-in-exile.
“Even 1,000 Tibetans sacrificed their life, not much help,” he said. “Please help stop violence from Chinese side and also from Tibetan side.”
link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t…
His remarks come in response to Premier Wen Jiabao’s accusation that the riots in Tibet were organzied by the “Dalai clique”:
“We have ample facts and plenty of evidence to prove that the riots in Lhasa were organised, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique,” Wen said, stepping up the offensive against the 1989 Nobel laureate.
link: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/…
Buried in that animus is a remark highlighted by The Hindu, an India News Service:
“The door of dialogue still opens to the Dalai Lama so long as he [the Dalai Lama] gives up the position for ‘Tibet Independence’, and so long as he recognises Tibet and Taiwan as inalienable parts of the Chinese territory,” Premier Wen Jiabao said at a press conference here after being elected for a second term.
link: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/…
The Times UK reports that even though the Dalai Lama cannot technically “resign”, he can choose to not reincarnate again. The Dalai Lama reiterated his commitment to pursuing nonviolence and his “middle way” of greater Tibetan authority within China, instead of outright independence:
“On violence, it’s wrong. We should not develop anti-Chinese feelings. We must live together side by side,” he said. “Independence is out of the question.”
He also challenged the Chinese to investigate him thoroughly to verify that he had no part in instigated the recent violence in Tibet:
“Investigate thoroughly, so if you want to start investigating from here you are most welcome,” he said.
“Check our various offices …They can examine my pulse, my urine, my stool, everything.”
The BBC highlights that this war of words is waging in the midst of a wider crack-down, including the mass relocation of monks:
A Chinese source with links to the security forces told the BBC that 600 monks had been flown overnight on military planes from Lhasa to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. The report could not be independently verified.
The source was told that the monks were transported because the authorities feared they would become a focus for protests if they stayed in Lhasa.
Police have also stopped BBC journalists from entering the village in which the Dalai Lama was born in north-eastern Tibet.
link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asi…
Please keep all sides of this conflict in your thoughts, prayers and meditations.
UPDATE: YouTube has video up of the Dalai Lama’s remarks:
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how nice of the Chinese to provide air transport for the revolt to spread!
The Lama’s position reminds me a lot of Ghandi’s hunger strikes to stop the violence in India.
I think no good can come of this. The Tibetans will die and the Chinese will face condemnation.
Come to think of it, that sounds terribly familiar. See “Iraq”.
Kinda says it all doesn’t it?
he’s locked (surfing term) in as the Dalai Lama. There is one hitch, though. The next incarnation of the Dalai Lama gets vetted by the Panchen Lama. When the Panchen Lama got vetted at age 6 the Chinese imprisoned him and have kept him locked away since. They then appointed their own version of the Panchen Lama. Maybe they figure they’ll also appoint the next Dalai Lama now that they have the keys to the multi-generational hierarchy.
Which raises the question – exactly what frightens them so damn much?