‘China must prove allegations against Dalai Lama’

With China keeping up its attack on the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government-in-exile on Tuesday called on the...

With China keeping up its attack on the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government-in-exile on Tuesday called on the international community to make an independent investigation into Beijing’s accusations holding the spiritual leader responsible for the recent violence in Tibet.

Dalai Lama aide Tenzin Taklha said China was making “shocking and ridiculous” allegations against the Dalai Lama without any evidence. “It is extremely unfortunate that China continues to make such baseless and ridiculous remarks against His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Let an independent international investigation find out the truth in such charges. China must present the international community with the evidence they have to support such shocking allegations,” Taklha told The Indian Express.

China has been holding the Dalai Lama personally responsible for the recent clashes in the Tibetan region, accusing him of masterminding violence in the region. China has also charged him with trying to sabotage the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing this August.

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Tibetans claim hundreds of people were killed during the month-long clashes with the Chinese police. The Tibetan protest to the Chinese crackdown had spilled over to the Olympic torch relay which was disrupted at a number of places during its world tour, most famously in London and Paris.

The two sides met for a round of talks in Shenzhen on Sunday, but immediately after that China came up with a fresh accusation, this time linking the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) with the al Qaeda.

The Dalai Lama’s aide said such remarks were not helping the cause of finding a peaceful settlement of the Tibetan issue through talks. “His Holiness has been accused of inciting separation, inciting violence and sabotaging Olympic Games. These are strange allegations. They do not help in any way to create a conducive atmosphere for meaningful talks,” Taklha said.

Both sides agree to meet again

The Dalai Lama’s envoys Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, who were holding talks with the Chinese authorities in Shenzhen, returned to India on Tuesday. Not much headway has been reported at the daylong talks, though the envoys were reported to have said in Hong Kong, on their way back, that the talks were “a good first step”. Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that the two sides had agreed to meet again for a further round of talks. This was the seventh round of talks between the two sides since 2002. Nothing much has been achieved at these talks with both sides sticking to their stated positions.