New Delhi, March 29
As Beijing continues to batter him with charges of “masterminding” the Lhasa unrest, the Dalai Lama today suggested that China itself could be behind the violence and expressed readiness to work with the Chinese authorities to restore peace in Tibet.
The Dalai Lama, who has been seeking dialogue to resolve Tibet issue, voiced frustration at lack of response from China and declared that the future of his ‘middle-path’ approach would depend on Beijing’s attitude in the next few weeks.
At a press conference here, he sought the help of the international community to bring China to the dialogue table, saying the Tibetans had “no power” to do so.
“Tibetans are non-violent people,” the spiritual leader maintained rubbishing allegations by China that he and his supporters were behind the recent violence in Tibet.
He suggested that China itself could be behind the violence as he said: “We have heard about a few hundred Chinese soldiers received monks’ dress.” “They (soldiers) dressed like monks. So, for a layperson, they will look like monks. But the swords they had, were not Tibetan, they were Chinese swords,” he said, apparently responding to China’s campaign that monks had indulged in violence.
Maintaining that he has “no desire to seek Tibet’s separation” nor “any wish to drive a wedge between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples,” the Dalai Lama expressed willingness to work with the Chinese authorities to “bring about peace and stability in Tibet.”
The Dalai Lama, who earlier led an inter-faith prayer at Rajghat in the memory of those killed in Lhasa, said, “my side is open for dialogue. We are waiting to hear from the Chinese side.”
— PTI
