Reportage – 2004

Major differences between Dalai Lama and China

DHARAMSHALA, India, 13 October 2004 (AFP)

Two envoys of the Dalai Lama who visited China last month said here that major differences exist between the exiled Tibetan leader and Beijing.

However, envoys Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, who returned to India earlier this month from China, said both sides were ready to continue the contacts which were established two years ago after a decade-long hiatus.

"We had so far the most extensive and serious exchange of views on matters relating to Tibet. The discussions were held in a frank but cordial atmosphere," Gyari said in his first comments on the discussions in Beijing.

"(But) it was apparent from the discussions that there are major differences on a number of issues, including some fundamental ones," the envoy told AFP in the northern Indian hilltop town of Dharamsala, which is the Dalai Lama's headquarters.

"Both sides (however) acknowledged the need for more substantive discussions in order to narrow down the gaps and reach a common ground," he added on Wednesday.

"We stressed the need for both sides to demonstrate flexibility, far-sightedness and vision to bridge the differences."

India has hosted the Dalai Lama since he fled Tibet in 1959 amid a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The Tibetan spiritual leader's government-in-exile has been headquartered in this northern town since then.

Direct contacts between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government broke down in 1993 and were renewed only in September 2002. Another Tibetan delegation paid a second visit in May 2003.