Reportage – 2008

Dalai Lama's envoys to hold talks from Sunday

Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche after public talk [ click here for print size   2.7M ]

DHARAMSHALA, India, 3 May 2008 Two envoys of the Dalai Lama are in Hong Kong en route to China for talks with Chinese officials on Sunday, said the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

"The meeting is a positive sign, as the Chinese government officially announced the invitation to the envoys of the Dalai Lama for the first time," says Samdhong Rinpoche, the exile Prime Minister, during a public address at Tsugla Khang in Mcleod Ganj.

The Chinese government announced an abrupt invitation to the envoys of the Dalai Lama after it faced mounting international criticism and calls to open dialogue with the Dalai Lama following crackdowns on Tibetan protests in Tibet since 10 March.

However, Rinpoche said that the envoys will not discuss the basic China-Tibet in the upcoming meetings, as there is no "condition and atmosphere" for dialogues on these matters.

"There will be no discussions over the basic China-Tibet issues in the upcoming meetings, as there is no atmosphere and conditions for these matters under the current situation in Tibet."

Rinpoche warned to withhold high expectations from the meetings, which Rinpoche termed "brief" and "informal talks", about bringing a solution to the current crisis in Tibet.

He said that the issue of many Tibetans who have been imprisoned and injured following the 10 March demonstrations in Tibet needs attention.

The Tibetan government-in-exile says as many as 203 Tibetans have died in the Chinese crackdown on anti-government protests, with 1,000 injured and 5,715 arrested since the protests began.

The two envoys had six rounds of talks with Chinese leaders since September 2002 without any substantial breakthrough.

"The upcoming meetings of the envoys with the Chinese authorities will not be the seventh round of formal talks," Rinpoche said.