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Tibet Tide
China asks Dalai Lama to use ‘influence’
Steps up crackdown in riot-scarred Lhasa

Beijing, March 31
China has asked the Dalai Lama to use his "influence" to stop violence in Tibet, in a first such statement which said the door for dialogue with him was "always open" but stepped up its crackdown in riot-scarred Lhasa, defying global pressure to exercise restraint.

The channels for dialogue between the Chinese government and Dalai Lama is always open, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said during a visit to Laos, as the Olympic flame arrived here today under tight security arrangements to thwart Tibetan protests.

"As long as the Dalai Lama abandons the claim for 'Tibet independence,' especially uses his influence to stop the violence in Tibet, and recognises both Tibet and Taiwan as inseparable parts of China, the Chinese government is to continue resuming dialogues with him," Wen was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Wen urged foreign governments and media to view this incident in an objective and impartial manner.

Chinese police rounded up new suspects in connection with the most vicious pro-independence protests in two decades in Tibet, taking the number of those arrested to 414.

These "people were suspected of involvement in deadly unrest in and near the Tibetan capital Lhasa in mid-March," state media reported today.

The Tibet Daily said that another 289 people had turned themselves in following the riots, which broke out in Lhasa on March 14 and spread to nearby Tibetan-inhabited provinces leaving at least 20 dead and over 700 injured.

China heaved a sigh of relief following a protest-free Olympic torch welcome here at the tightly-guarded Tiananmen Square, site of the 1989 bloody crackdown on pro-independence protests but Tibetans have threatened to disrupt the 130-day relay, the longest ever in games' history.

The US, which has been pressing China to hold talks with the Dalai Lama, welcomed the Chinese step, but said it was not enough.

"We see this as a step in the right direction, but it's not a substitute for the ability of our diplomats, as well as others, to travel not only to Lhasa, but into the surrounding area specifically," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack he told reporters.

President George W Bush talked on phone with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Wednesday pressing on the need for substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

The International Campaign for Tibet said there are "serious fears for the welfare and whereabouts of the monks, whose peaceful protest shattered the authorities plans to convey an image that the situation in Lhasa was under control".

Beijing accused the monks of misleading the world but said it would "not punish" them. "What they (the monks) said is not true. They were attempting to mislead the world's opinion," Baema Chilain, Vice-Chairman of the regional government told reporters.

The monks who disrupted the tour "are not to be punished", he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

The violent protests in Tibet coincided with the 1959 failed uprising after which the Dalai Lama had fled to India.

China has accused the Dalai Lama, leader of the Tibetan government in exile in India, of "masterminding" the unrest aimed at "sabotaging" the Beijing Olympics to be held in August. The 72-year exiled Nobel laureate has vehemently denied the charge.

Tibetan groups claimed that the three main monasteries in Lhasa were cut off by authorities and monks were forced to live without food, water or electricity since the protest erupted. — PTI

Tibet as part of China
Karat reminds Centre of its official line
Arup Chanda
Tribune News Service

Coimbatore, March 31
The CPM today warned the UPA government not to succumb to pressure from western powers on the issue of Tibet and spoil relations with China.

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said here today, “India should never tow the line of western powers on the issue of Tibet and spoil relations with China. India has always held Tibet to be an autonomous region of China.”

Speakers at the CPM’s 19th congress here expressed concern about some political parties trying to make an issue out of Tibet and attacking the Central government to lend support to those advocating an “independent Tibet”.

Karat said parties like the BJP, which was speaking about “independent Tibet”, were in fact doing disservice to India. “We also have the problem of separatist activities. Will such political forces support the demand for an independent Kashmir? The NDA convener has gone a step further. Are they intentionally bent upon spoiling our relations with China?” Karat asked.

He pointed out that from the beginning India had accepted Tibet to be a part of China and recognised the People’s Republic of China instead of Taiwan.

However, he said the CPM wanted a discussion between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government within the constitutional framework of China.

Karat noted with concern that there were moves in some parts of the world to spread the belief that national sovereignty could be amended in the name of human and ethnic rights.