Give up freedom demand, Dalai Lama told

BEIJING, APRIL 3. China has said it would allow the Dalai Lama, currently living in exile in India, to return to Lhasa if the spiritual leader ``truly'' gave up his quest for Tibetan Independence.

Expounding China's stand on Tibet, the Foreign Minister, Mr. Tang Jiaxuan, told PTI here that Beijing was willing to negotiate with the Dalai Lama if he agreed to China's preconditions.

``We have reiterated on many occasions that as long as the Dalai Lama truly renounces his proposition for Tibetan independence, stops all activities aimed at splitting the motherland and makes a public statement recognising Tibet as an inalienable part of China, we will welcome his return to the motherland,'' he said.

Putting further preconditions, Mr. Tang said the Tibetan leader should recognise Taiwan as a province of China and the Government representing the whole of China. ``We will negotiate with him... So that he can do something useful for the people in Tibet in the rest of his life.''

China has long accused the Nobel Laureate, 64 Dalai Lama (64), of trying to split the country. The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet after a failed armed uprising against the Communist rule in 1959, maintains that he sought only genuine autonomy for the Himalayan region.

Denying statements attributed to the India-based Tibetan Buddhist leader that communication channels with Beijing were non- functional, the Minister said ``the Central Government has channels for contacts with the Dalai Lama side and these are unimpeded''.

Stating that the Dalai Lama had ``never given up attempts to split China'', Mr. Tang said the Tibetan leader ``has no sincerity whatsoever about the negotiations. The responsibility for the current absence of dialogue between the two sides lies squarely on the Dalai Lama's side.''

He claimed the Chinese Government had always adopted a ``very liberal policy'' towards Tibetans, and denied Beijing was suppressing them.

Asked whether China would accept over 150,000 Tibetan refugees living in India, Mr. Tang said that under China's constitution all ethnic communities were ``completely equal'' and hence the so-called Tibetan refugees issue did not exist.

Human rights groups had repeatedly accused China of systematic destruction of Tibetan Buddhist culture and persecuting monks loyal to the Dalai Lama.

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Section  : International
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