Dalai Lama wants serious talks with China on Tibet

DHARAMSALA - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has again reiterated that he is not asking independence for Tibet but wants only greater autonomy.

“The whole world knows I am not asking for Tibetan independence while the Chinese government continues to claim I am a separatist. That was the problem,” he said in an interview in the US Tuesday, according to a post on the website of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) here.

“The Chinese leadership needs to acknowledge that there is a Tibetan problem and begin serious discussions. Once serious discussions start, it should be the Tibetans in Tibet who should be taking active part in it. Currently, the Tibetans in Tibet are afraid to speak their minds as they would be accused of being separatists,” he said.

“I have never asked the Chinese government for any position for myself in the past and I will not ask for such a thing even in the future,” said the Dalai Lama, who is now touring the US.

Asked if he was concerned about the future of the Tibetans after him, the 74-year-old said: “There is an elected political leadership in exile. Young and qualified spiritual masters in all Tibetan Buddhist lineages are growing up. I am, therefore, not concerned.”

The Dalai Lama’s representatives and the Chinese leadership have held nine rounds of talks since 2002 to try and find a solution to the Tibetan issue.

The Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. Over 150,000 Tibetans live outside Tibet, most of them in India.