Reportage – 2008

Beijing gets ready to talk, eyewash suspected

MCLEOD GANJ, India, 28 April 2008 — Dalai Lama arrives to offer prayers at Tsugla Khang temple for the victims of the recent crackdown in Tibet on the occasion of Shegu (the 49th day of mourning). Over 150 people are reported to have been killed by Chinese forces since the 10 March protests in Tibet. [ click here for print size   3.4M ]

DHARAMSHALA, India, 28 April 2008 In an abrupt change in move and mood, China offered to meet with a representative of the Dalai Lama in the coming days, according to Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency.

"In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days," Xinhua said on Friday, quoting an unnamed official.

The Dalai Lama welcomed China's offer to hold talks with his envoy, but cautioned that the meeting would be meaningless if Beijing isn't serious about trying to solve the root causes of Tibetan unrest.

He also said that merely meeting with his envoy in order to show the world that they are having dialogue would not serve any purpose.

Although China offered to hold talks, the same Xinhua report attacked and blamed the Dalai Lama for the recent unrest in Tibet that threatens to disrupt the Beijing Olympics in August.

"It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks," Xinhua reported.

The Dalai Lama sent a personal communication to President Hu Jintao on 19 March wherein he offered to send representatives to help calm the situation in Tibet.

Leaders from around the world repeatedly called for talks between the two sides after China cracked down on the biggest anti-China protests in two decades. The protests started on 10 March in Tibet, and the Chinese response left about 150 Tibetans dead, according to the Tibetan government-in-exile. China says Tibetan protestors killed more than 20 ethnic Chinese in the riots.

The Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, said that it will require normalcy in the situation in Tibet for formal resumption of talks.

"We are committed to take all steps, including informal meetings, to continue in bringing about this (talks). It is our position that for any meeting to be productive it is important for the Chinese leadership to understand the reality and acknowledge the positive role of His Holiness the Dalai Lama rather than indulging in vilification campaigns," Samdhong Rinpoche said in a statement.

Although China's offer to talk is a sign of response to the intense global pressure over its crackdown in Tibet, the abrupt move to meet with the Dalai Lama's envoy ahead of the Beijing Olympics is seen as a stalling tactic to eyewash the critics so as to get through the Olympics.