PM Dalai Lama talks 'constructive'

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has met the Dalai Lama and promised to work to encourage reconciliation between China and the people of Tibet.

Downing Street described the 30-minute meeting behind closed doors at Lambeth Palace as "warm and constructive" and said that Mr Brown sought the views of the Dalai Lama "as a spiritual leader", as well as discussing human rights in Tibet and the aftermath of the Chinese earthquake.

Mr Brown has been accused of "kow-towing" to China because of his decision to meet the Dalai Lama at the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, rather than in the political setting of 10 Downing Street.

But on Thursday the Dalai Lama himself played down the row, when he appeared before a House of Commons committee to give evidence about human rights in his homeland, which has been ruled by Beijing since 1951.

Insisting that he was not concerned about the Prime Minister's choice of venue, he told the Foreign Affairs Committee: "For me - no differences. So long as meeting and talk - that is important. I always meet on the level we are human beings."

Following the meeting, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The meeting included a conversation on inter-faith issues with the PM asking the views of the Dalai Lama as a spiritual leader.

"A range of other issues were discussed, including the importance of the dialogue between the Dalai Lama's representatives and the Chinese authorities and the PM's strong commitment to the human rights of the Tibetan people.

"The PM expressed his determination to work with both sides to encourage reconciliation. They also discussed the aftermath of the earthquake in Sichuan and the steps being taken by the UK to assist the people of western China."

On Thursday the Dalai Lama suggested that the UK should do more to help the people of his Himalayan homeland.

Asked if Britain was doing enough for Tibet, he told the Foreign Affairs Committee: "I think not enough."

China floats inviting Dalai Lama to Olympics: Tibet MP

By Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official has asked whether Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama would agree to attend the Beijing Olympics to ease recent tensions, a Tibet government-in-exile legislator said on Monday.

The Dalai Lama would consider going, the law maker said.

Khedroob Thondup, a Taipei-based member of Tibet's parliament-in-exile, said a senior leader in Beijing had called him about two weeks ago to "sound out" the Olympic visit idea. He did not identify the leader.

China has blamed the Dalai Lama for unrest in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China since mid-March.

The gesture suggest that Beijing seeks to show the world that it can get along with Tibetan leaders following a world opinion backlash over China's handling of the Tibet violence.

"If they want to invite His Holiness to the Olympics, that would be a big change," Thondup told Reuters, referring to the Dalai Lama. "I'm sure he would consider this."

China has repeatedly lashed out at the Dalai Lama for a deadly March 14 riot in the region's capital Lhasa and for subsequent scuffles or protests in Tibetan areas of China, which took control over the mountainous territory in the 1950s.

The recent unrest, the most serious challenge to Chinese rule in the region for nearly two decades, prompted anti-China protests that disrupted the international leg of the torch relay for the August 8-24 Beijing Olympics and led to calls for Western leaders to boycott the August Games.
But Thondup said he didn't expect any results from ongoing talks between the government-in-exile and Chinese leaders because of lack of an agenda or consensus. The two sides met last week and are expected to hold another round before the Olympics, he said.

"It's a blame game," Thondup said. "There's no real substance."

There have been six rounds of dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama's envoys since 2002, with no breakthrough.

(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Dalai Lama hails fall of Berlin Wall

BERLIN (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama hailed the fall of the Berlin Wall as a symbol of peaceful protest in an address to some 20,000 supporters which strove to reassure China he was not seeking independence for Tibet.

Standing before the city's Brandenburg Gate that straddled the East-West border, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader said he was "extremely happy" about the turnout and stressed the importance of pursuing non-violent solutions to problems.

"(This is) the very place the Berlin Wall disappeared, not by force, but by a popular peace movement," he said on the final stop of his five-day visit to Germany on Monday. "So I really feel (there is) something very significant (in this)."

Germany reunified less than a year after the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, ending four decades of separation.

Much of the German media coverage surrounding the Dalai Lama's latest visit has focused on the infighting in Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) over whether to risk antagonizing China by receiving a man Beijing views as a separatist.

"We are not seeking separation," the Dalai Lama told a crowd that police estimated at around 20,000. "Tibet is a poor country, materially very backward," he said, noting that the "average Tibetan" wanted to live in a more modern society.

For this reason, he said it was important that Tibet remain part of China so it could profit from its booming economy.

"We get maximum benefit, provided (there is) autonomy. That is the safeguard of Tibet's unique cultural heritage."
Representatives of the Dalai Lama have been meeting Chinese officials this month, but after talks earlier on Monday with the foreign policy committee of the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag), the 72-year-old was reluctant to raise hopes.

"Now the problem is that we have some very nice things on paper," he said according to the German transcript of his comments. "Actually implementing them (is) very difficult."

Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose conservatives rule with the SPD, raised hackles in China by meeting the Dalai Lama in Berlin last year. She is currently on a visit to Latin America.

(Editing by Matthew Jones)

Dalai Lama hails fall of Berlin Wall

BERLIN (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama hailed the fall of the Berlin Wall as a symbol of peaceful protest in an address to some 20,000 supporters which strove to reassure China he was not seeking independence for Tibet.

Standing before the city's Brandenburg Gate that straddled the East-West border, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader said he was "extremely happy" about the turnout and stressed the importance of pursuing non-violent solutions to problems.

"(This is) the very place the Berlin Wall disappeared, not by force, but by a popular peace movement," he said on the final stop of his five-day visit to Germany on Monday. "So I really feel (there is) something very significant (in this)."

Germany reunified less than a year after the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, ending four decades of separation.

Much of the German media coverage surrounding the Dalai Lama's latest visit has focused on the infighting in Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) over whether to risk antagonizing China by receiving a man Beijing views as a separatist.

"We are not seeking separation," the Dalai Lama told a crowd that police estimated at around 20,000. "Tibet is a poor country, materially very backward," he said, noting that the "average Tibetan" wanted to live in a more modern society.

For this reason, he said it was important that Tibet remain part of China so it could profit from its booming economy.

"We get maximum benefit, provided (there is) autonomy. That is the safeguard of Tibet's unique cultural heritage."
Representatives of the Dalai Lama have been meeting Chinese officials this month, but after talks earlier on Monday with the foreign policy committee of the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag), the 72-year-old was reluctant to raise hopes.

"Now the problem is that we have some very nice things on paper," he said according to the German transcript of his comments. "Actually implementing them (is) very difficult."

Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose conservatives rule with the SPD, raised hackles in China by meeting the Dalai Lama in Berlin last year. She is currently on a visit to Latin America.

(Editing by Matthew Jones)

Dalai Lama hails fall of Berlin Wall

BERLIN (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama hailed the fall of the Berlin Wall as a symbol of peaceful protest in an address to some 20,000 supporters which strove to reassure China he was not seeking independence for Tibet.

Standing before the city's Brandenburg Gate that straddled the East-West border, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader said he was "extremely happy" about the turnout and stressed the importance of pursuing non-violent solutions to problems.

"(This is) the very place the Berlin Wall disappeared, not by force, but by a popular peace movement," he said on the final stop of his five-day visit to Germany on Monday. "So I really feel (there is) something very significant (in this)."

Germany reunified less than a year after the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, ending four decades of separation.

Much of the German media coverage surrounding the Dalai Lama's latest visit has focused on the infighting in Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) over whether to risk antagonizing China by receiving a man Beijing views as a separatist.

"We are not seeking separation," the Dalai Lama told a crowd that police estimated at around 20,000. "Tibet is a poor country, materially very backward," he said, noting that the "average Tibetan" wanted to live in a more modern society.

For this reason, he said it was important that Tibet remain part of China so it could profit from its booming economy.

"We get maximum benefit, provided (there is) autonomy. That is the safeguard of Tibet's unique cultural heritage."
Representatives of the Dalai Lama have been meeting Chinese officials this month, but after talks earlier on Monday with the foreign policy committee of the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag), the 72-year-old was reluctant to raise hopes.

"Now the problem is that we have some very nice things on paper," he said according to the German transcript of his comments. "Actually implementing them (is) very difficult."

Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose conservatives rule with the SPD, raised hackles in China by meeting the Dalai Lama in Berlin last year. She is currently on a visit to Latin America.

(Editing by Matthew Jones)

Dalai Lama envoy says China talks 'good first step'

HONG KONG (AFP) — Talks between Chinese officials and envoys from the Tibetan government-in-exile were a "good first step," one of the Dalai Lama's representatives said here on Tuesday.

"All very candid. We had very candid discussions," said Lodi Gyari, one of the Tibetan spiritual leader's envoys who met Chinese officials in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

"It was a good first step," he said, when asked to describe the talks which followed deadly violence in the region in March.

Gyari was speaking at Hong Kong International Airport before flying back to India.

He told Hong Kong's Cable TV a statement would be made by the government-in-exile once the two envoys had reported to the Dalai Lama at his northern Indian base in Dharamshala.

The highly secretive talks were the first meeting between the two groups in more than a year following global pressure on Beijing to reopen negotiations amid seven weeks of unrest in Tibet.

Xinhua, China's state press agency, reported earlier that the talks had ended with an agreement to meet again, although no date was set and no other major breakthrough was reported.

Despite the talks, China's state press has maintained a barrage of abusive rhetoric against the Dalai Lama, with one report accusing him of "monstrous crimes."

China has blamed the Dalai Lama for the unrest that erupted in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, on March 14 and spread to Tibetan-populated regions around the country.

The government-in-exile says 203 Tibetans have been killed and about 1,000 hurt in the Chinese crackdown on the latest unrest. China says Tibetan "rioters" and "insurgents" have killed 21 people.

The exile government previously said it was pleased to reopen dialogue and that its main concern was to end the current wave of repression in the Himalayan region. Talks began in 2002 but were suspended by China last year.

"The fact we are once again in contact is very vital for a solution to the Tibetan issue," Thubten Samphel, spokesman of the Tibetan government-in-exile, told AFP by phone on Monday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday voiced hope that progress would be made and said he wanted future channels of negotiation to remain open.

China has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama of wanting independence for his homeland and of fomenting the recent unrest in an effort to shine a world spotlight on Tibet ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.

The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner has rejected these accusations, but has accused China of widespread human rights violations against his people and maintained his push for greater Tibetan autonomy under Chinese rule.

US President George W. Bush was one of the world leaders who pressured China to restart negotiations to end the crisis. The White House on Monday welcomed the talks.

"People in Tibet feel that they are unable to freely practice their religion, freely practice some of their cultural traditions and values, so we believe that talks to discuss those issues are a good step," spokesman Scott Stanzel said.