SEATTLE: April 14th. (NY Times) — The Dalai Lama said Sunday that “some efforts” at diplomacy were under way between his representatives and those of the Chinese government even as officials in Beijing continue to portray him as having orchestrated protests in Tibet that have led to a crackdown and violence there. The Dalai Lama at a news conference in Seattle. He said it was unclear what talks with Chinese officials over Tibet might yield. Just a few days these are going on,” the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, said of the discussions. He said it was unclear what the talks might yield. He would not say specifically what matters were being discussed, and he said he had not been directly involved in the conversations.
Western leaders have encouraged China to resume discussions with the Dalai Lama in the wake of the unrest in Tibet, which began on March 10. As recently as Saturday, President Hu Jintao echoed other Chinese leaders who have accused the Dalai Lama of encouraging violence. Mr. Hu left open the door for dialogue but only if “the Dalai side stops activities splitting the motherland, stops activities scheming and instigating violence, and stops activities sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games,” according to Xinhua, the government’s official news agency. The Dalai Lama, who is in Seattle for a conference, told reporters on Sunday that he was unaware of the comments by Mr. Hu and, as he has done repeatedly, denied that he had played any role in the violence. He noted that he had also been criticized by some Tibetans who have said his strategy of nonviolence has produced little change. He rejected the suggestion that Tibetan leaders might make concessions to engage in more extensive dialogue with China. “We’ve become refugees,” he said, adding that Tibetans had little left to concede.
Asked whether he would accept an invitation to the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, he laughed and said he did not expect to receive one. More important, he said, was for China to take steps to earn the international respect and trust it hopes the Olympics will help nurture. As part of doing this, he said, China should release Tibetans arrested since the protests began and provide those injured with proper medical care. He also said China should open Tibet to the news media. “Let them go there, see the actual situation,” he said. He restated positions he has made clear in the past: that he does not seek independence for Tibet but what he calls a more genuine autonomy and that he is eager for the Chinese people to know that Tibetans are neither anti-Chinese nor opposed to the Beijing Olympics. He said he met with a Chinese media agency here on Saturday with the hope of sending those messages directly to the Chinese people. He said he believed that the idea of a “harmonious society” promoted by Mr. Hu showed that the governing Communist Party was “in a state of transformation,” even as the Chinese government continues to distort information and manipulate its people. He said some Chinese officials were demanding that Tibetans put their thumbprints on statements saying they did not want the Dalai Lama to return.
The Dalai Lama has been leading a five-day conference, called Seeds of Compassion, that is focused on nurturing compassion in young children. The event was planned many months before the unrest began in Tibet, and the Dalai Lama had avoided directly discussing the troubles until Sunday, the third day of the conference.
by William Yardley
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