China looks at India to talk to Dalai Lama

BEIJING: China expects India to somehow persuade the Dalai Lama to call for peace in Tibet and resume the process of negotiations.

Officials said India's help at this crucial juncture would go a long way in further building the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

"We realise India would not directly discuss this issue with the Dalai Lama. But there are ways for New Delhi to persuade him to make an appeal for peace," a government official told TOI today.

Another official, who works for a government-run think-tank said China wants the Dalai Lama to make an appeal for peace in order to calm down the situation.

"We are ready to resume negotiations with the Dalai Lama even before the Olympic Games if he makes an appeal for peace and uses his influence to calm down the situation," Hu Shisheng, director of South Asian Studies at the state-run think-tank, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations told this reporter.

Beijing is happy about India's action in stopping the Dharmashala based Tibetan protesters from going over to Tibet. But it is worried that India may find it difficult to handle the situation if protests and demonstrations go beyond a certain point.

"Indian government has not fallen into the trap of western nations that are condemning government action in Tibet," Hu said.

"But we are worried India may find it difficult to sustain this approach if the agitation goes on for long. India might come under pressure from western countries to go soft on Tibetan protesters," he said.

One of the problems is that there is no repatriation agreement between India and China. This makes it difficult for Beijing to demand that fugitives from Chinese law be sent back. Besides, most of those that illegally leave China enter India through Nepal instead of going there directly.

"This makes the situation complex because India regards as illegal entry from Nepal and not from China," Hu explained. "We are getting a lot of help and support from the government in Nepal, which tries to push back illegal migrants to the extent possible. But a lot of Tibetans still manage to enter India through the Nepal route every year.

The worry now is that protesters and other anti-China activists from Tibet would flee from the police and find their way to shelters and hideouts in Dharmashala.

China is worried that the demonstrations, which have subsided in Lhasa as of now, might reoccur during the coming months before the Olympic Games in August.

"We will highly appreciate help from India at this crucial time. It will go a long way in further developing the bilateral relations between the two countries," he said