Dalai Lama to leave hospital on Monday

MUMBAI, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama will leave a Mumbai hospital on Monday after undergoing tests for abdominal discomfort, his spokesman said Sunday.

Spokesman Tenzin Takla declined to comment on the results of the tests.

"He is feeling well. He will be discharged tomorrow," the spokesman said.

The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader flew to Mumbai on Thursday and was admitted to Lilavati Hospital with what his advisers said was exhaustion.

He had recently returned to India from an 11-day visit to France, and has canceled trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

The Dalai Lama spends several months a year traveling the globe to highlight the struggle of Tibetans for greater freedom in China and to teach Buddhism.

Since the March outbreak of violence in Tibet, China has stepped up its campaign to vilify the Dalai Lama, blaming him for the unrest, which Beijing says was part of a campaign to split the Himalayan region from the rest of China.

The Dalai Lama has denied the allegations, saying that he only seeks greater autonomy for Tibet to protect its unique Buddhist culture.

The Dalai Lama has been living in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Tibetan exiles stage fast as Dalai Lama takes part in hospital

DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — Tibetan exiles and supporters staged a symbolic 12-hour fast for peace in Tibet on Saturday as Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama joined in from his hospital bed.

The fast, which organisers said would be joined by supporters worldwide, aimed to highlight the "Tibetan cause" and push for world peace.

Thousands of Tibetan exiles and supporters thronged the main temple in the northern hilltown of Dharamshala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based, to pray.

The 73-year-old Dalai Lama, hospitalised in Mumbai on Thursday with "abdominal discomfort," joined in the fast from hospital after doctors judged him well enough to participate, aides said.

The Dalai Lama was due to leave hospital late Sunday, his secretary said.

"Doctors say he has no physical health problems except that he is physically exhausted" following a gruelling travel schedule, Tenzin Taklha told AFP.

The fast was intended to keep the international spotlight on the "Tibetan cause" after the Beijing Olympics, the Tibetan government-in-exile said.

Its prime minister Sandhong Rinpoche said it was an "extremely important non-violent action taken by Tibetans under the leadership of the Dalai Lama in a very critical period for Tibet, particularly the post-Olympic period".

"This is not a protest led by hatred, rancour and anger but by the teachings of the Lord Buddha to refrain from harming others," Rinpoche told the crowd in Dharamshala that included nuns and monks dressed in saffron robes, school children and foreign supporters.

Violent protests against Beijing's rule broke out across Tibet in March, sparking a heavy Chinese crackdown that has drawn global condemnation.

Rinpoche said the fast was intended to pay "our condolence and homage to those who lost their lives and those who were imprisoned, tortured and beaten in the recent uprisings in Tibet".

The event was also intended "to pray and sympathise for the victims" of the devastating earthquake that struck southwest China's Sichuan province in May, leaving nearly 88,000 people dead or missing, he said.

China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and "liberated" it the following year. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama has been pursuing a "middle-path" policy -- which espouses "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet, rather than full independence as many younger, more radical activists are demanding.

Still, China has vilified him as "mastermind" of what it called a drive to sabotage the Olympics and destabilise the country.

The Dalai Lama said ahead of the Olympics that he had been hopeful of progress, encouraged by the commitment of Chinese President Hu Jintao to begin serious talks.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Nepal, whose capital has been the scene of nearly daily anti-China protests, Tibetan exiles also observed the fast.

"Tibetans from Nepal would like to send the message to the whole world that all Tibetans want peace and freedom in Tibet," said Doma Tsomo, head of the Nepal Tibet Solidarity Foundation.

Dalai Lama hospitalised with stomach pain: spokesman

DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — The Dalai Lama was taken to hospital in India on Thursday after complaining of stomach pain, his office said.
The Dalai Lama's admission to a hospital in Mumbai came a day after the Tibetan spiritual leader's office said he was suffering from exhaustion and would travel to the city for a medical check-up.
"There is nothing major to feel concerned about," his personal secretary Tenzin Taklha told AFP in the Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based.
"But he has been admitted to the Lilivati Hospital in Mumbai because he was feeling some discomfort in his abdomen."
"The Dalai Lama will be examined by doctors tomorrow (Friday)," he said.
The check-up is being carried out "at the recommendation of his personal physicians," Taklha said.
In 2002 the leader of Tibetan Buddhists was admitted to the Lilivati Hospital after falling ill with stomach pains. He was treated with antibiotics.
The 73-year-old spiritual leader had been pursuing a gruelling travel itinerary as he campaigned for improved human rights in Tibet while China readied to host the Olympic Games in Beijing that ended on August 24.
The Nobel peace prize winner returned last weekend from France where he met Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, human rights minister Rama Yade and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
Violent protests against Chinese rule broke out across Tibet in March, sparking a heavy Chinese crackdown on the Himalayan region that has drawn global condemnation.
His office said on Wednesday said the monk would now not lead a worldwide 12-hour fast on August 30 intended to ensure attention to the campaign for improved human rights in Tibet did not drop off in the wake of the Olympics.
Officials said the fast and prayer session planned for his followers around the world will take place without him.
Planned visits to Mexico and the Dominican Republic have been dropped, the statement added.
The leader had already undergone some tests earlier this month, his office said, without providing further details.
China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and "liberated" it the following year. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
The Dalai Lama has kept reaching out to Beijing, despite being vilified by China as "mastermind" of a drive to sabotage the Olympics and destabilise the country.
Clad in the maroon robes of a monk, he is loved by supporters for his contagious laugh and engaging grin, set off by oversized glasses, and is regarded by many as a visionary equal to Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi.

Dalai Lama hospitalised with stomach pain: spokesman

DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — The Dalai Lama was taken to hospital in India on Thursday after complaining of stomach pain, his office said.
The Dalai Lama's admission to a hospital in Mumbai came a day after the Tibetan spiritual leader's office said he was suffering from exhaustion and would travel to the city for a medical check-up.
"There is nothing major to feel concerned about," his personal secretary Tenzin Taklha told AFP in the Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based.
"But he has been admitted to the Lilivati Hospital in Mumbai because he was feeling some discomfort in his abdomen."
"The Dalai Lama will be examined by doctors tomorrow (Friday)," he said.
The check-up is being carried out "at the recommendation of his personal physicians," Taklha said.
In 2002 the leader of Tibetan Buddhists was admitted to the Lilivati Hospital after falling ill with stomach pains. He was treated with antibiotics.
The 73-year-old spiritual leader had been pursuing a gruelling travel itinerary as he campaigned for improved human rights in Tibet while China readied to host the Olympic Games in Beijing that ended on August 24.
The Nobel peace prize winner returned last weekend from France where he met Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, human rights minister Rama Yade and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
Violent protests against Chinese rule broke out across Tibet in March, sparking a heavy Chinese crackdown on the Himalayan region that has drawn global condemnation.
His office said on Wednesday said the monk would now not lead a worldwide 12-hour fast on August 30 intended to ensure attention to the campaign for improved human rights in Tibet did not drop off in the wake of the Olympics.
Officials said the fast and prayer session planned for his followers around the world will take place without him.
Planned visits to Mexico and the Dominican Republic have been dropped, the statement added.
The leader had already undergone some tests earlier this month, his office said, without providing further details.
China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and "liberated" it the following year. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
The Dalai Lama has kept reaching out to Beijing, despite being vilified by China as "mastermind" of a drive to sabotage the Olympics and destabilise the country.
Clad in the maroon robes of a monk, he is loved by supporters for his contagious laugh and engaging grin, set off by oversized glasses, and is regarded by many as a visionary equal to Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi.

Dalai Lama, battling exhaustion, cancels trips

DHARMSALA, India (AP) — The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was suffering from exhaustion and has canceled two planned international trips to undergo medical tests, his office said Wednesday.

The 73-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner had been "experiencing some discomfort in the past couple of days," a statement from his office said, adding that his doctors had diagnosed him as suffering from "exhaustion."

The Dalai Lama spends several months a year traveling the globe to highlight the struggle of Tibetans for greater freedom from China and to teach Buddhism.

He canceled two upcoming trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic and would rest over the next three weeks, said Thupten Samphel, the spokesman of the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile.

Samphel said the holy man would travel to Mumbai for medical tests before returning to the north Indian hill town of Dharmsala to recuperate. He gave no further details on his condition.

The Dalai Lama has had his headquarters in Dharmsala since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against China.

Dalai Lama to join prayers and fast for Tibet

DHARMSALA, India — The Dalai Lama will join Tibetan exiles around the world in a 12-hour prayer service and a symbolic fast to fight against oppression in the world, especially in Tibet, a statement from the Tibetan government-in-exile said.

"It will be one of the most important nonviolent campaigns by the Tibetan Solidarity Committee to get support from the world community for world peace and fight against oppression in the world in general and particularly in Tibet," a statement issued Friday said.

Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile and a high-ranking lama, called the Aug. 30 event an "extremely important nonviolent action taken by Tibetans under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a very critical period for Tibet, particularly the post-Olympic period."

The Dalai Lama has been vilified by Chinese authorities who blame him for recent unrest in Tibet which Beijing says was part of a campaign to split the Himalayan region from the rest of China.

The Dalai Lama has denied the allegations, saying that despite China's harsh crackdown on the demonstrations that erupted in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in March, he only wants greater autonomy for the Himalayan region to protect its Buddhist culture.

Dharmsala in India has been the headquarters of Tibetan exiles since the Dalai Lama fled there after an abortive uprising against China in 1959.

While many Tibetans opposed China's hosting of the Olympics, the Dalai Lama said that he supported the Beijing Games.

Dalai Lama urges to move NATO headquarters to Moscow again

Paris, August 22, Interfax - Dalai Lama believes Russia should join NATO and even chair the alliance.

"The great nation of Russia must be brought into the world and European community. And in order to reduce distance and fear, NATO should move to Moscow!" Dalai Lama told the Euronews TV channel on Friday.

He lamented, "Unfortunately, although the Soviet Union has changed in the Russian Federation it seems the old thinking, all sort of old tendencies or habits are now returning!" The Buddhist leader believes "it is not good!"

"Russia be welcomed by the (NATO - IF) member states. Then fear will go!" Dalai Lama said. Earlier he urged to move NATO headquarters to Moscow in order to implant the feeling of being one humanity, living on one planet.

Dalai Lama also notes that remaining within China is in Tibet's interest as it is "a materially-backward, landlocked country with a small population." However, he believes, Tibet needs the autonomy guaranteed by the Chinese constitution, but "not implemented."

Dalai Lama accuses China of firing on Tibetan protesters

PARIS (AFP) — The Dalai Lama accused Chinese soldiers of firing on Tibetan protesters this week, as China hosted the Olympics, and told a French newspaper in an interview published Thursday there were unconfirmed reports that up to 140 people were killed.

He told Le Monde newspaper that at least 400 people had been killed and 10,000 people detained since a Chinese crackdown on unrest in Tibet and neighbouring regions in March.

"The Chinese army again fired on a crowd on Monday August 18, in the Kham region in eastern Tibet," the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader was quoted as saying.

"One hundred and forty Tibetans are reported to have been killed, but the figure needs to be confirmed," said the Nobel Peace prize winner who is on a 12-day visit to France.

The Dalai Lama's representative in Geneva, Tseten Samdup Chhoekyapa, said the incident occurred in Garze, a Tibetan-populated town in China's southwest Sichuan province that has been tense for many months.

He said the information had come from one "reliable" source in Garze.

Normally the Dalai Lama's office releases information after getting at least two sources, according to Chhoekyapa. "But because of the absolute blackout on information there, we have been unable to do that," he told AFP in a telephone interview.

Tibetan activist groups that normally provide information on unrest said they were unaware of the clash reported by the Dalai Lama. But they said information sources had dried up because of the security crackdown.

Chinese security forces opened fire and killed at least eight protesters in Garze on April 3, exiles and activist groups said.

The Dalai Lama told Le Monde that since March "reliable witnesses say that 400 people have been killed in the region of (the Tibetan capital) Lhasa alone."

"Killed by bullets, even though they were protesting without weapons. Their bodies were never given back to their families. If you consider the whole of Tibet, the number of victims is obviously higher," he said

"Ten thousand people have been arrested. We don't know where they are imprisoned," he said.

Unrest erupted in Lhasa after four days of protests against nearly six decades of Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama said it looked as though Chinese security forces were planning to continue their crackdown for many years and had build new military camps.

He said the "frenzy" of military building in the regions of Amdo and Kham "makes me think that this colonisation by the army is destined to last."

"A project of long-term brutal repression is under way."

He said that in the run-up to the Olympic Games, currently underway in Beijing, he had been hopeful of progress, encouraged by the commitment of Chinese President Hu Jintao to begin serious talks.

"But we were quickly disillusioned. Our envoys came up against a wall. There was no opening," he said, adding that autonomy and not independence remained his goal for Tibet.

"Real autonomy, because we know what Chinese-style autonomy is: a trap."

The Dalai Lama repeated in his Le Monde interview that his visit to France was not political.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has refused to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader, but the Dalai Lama said he hoped that Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Euroepan Union, would "make constructive propositions to the Chinese government" when the Olympics are over.

The Tibetan leader is to meet with Sarkozy's pop star wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Friday.

China warned France on Wednesday to prudently deal with the "important and sensitive" issue of Tibet.

China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and officially "liberated" it the following year. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking independence for Tibet and of fomenting unrest. The spiritual leader insists he wants autonomy and religious freedom rather than independence, and has said he supports the Beijing Olympics.

Tibetans clash with Nepal police, 200 held

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepali police detained about 200 Tibetan exiles who tried to march to the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu on Tuesday protesting against China's crackdown in their homeland in March, police said.

Protesters, including nuns and monks, shouted "China, thief, leave our country" and "We want free Tibet" as they were picked up by police

Protests have been staged regularly since March but the Tibetans have intensified their anti-China demonstrations since the Olympic Games began in Beijing on Aug. 8.

Nearly 10,000 refugees have been detained in Nepal so far. Most are released after a day or so.

Nepal is home to more than 20,000 Tibetans. Thousands fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Nepal considers Tibet as part of China and bans political activities by the exiles. Despite this, Tibetans regularly stage protests calling for freedom in their homeland.

Dalai Lama keeps reaching out to Beijing despite rebuffs

DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has kept reaching out to Beijing, despite being vilified by China as "mastermind" of a drive to sabotage the Olympics and destabilise the country.

Just days before the Games in Beijing opened Friday, the exiled Buddhist god-king sent "his prayers and good wishes for the success" of the Olympics and called the event "a moment of great pride" for the 1.3 billion Chinese people.

The spiritual leader's conciliatory words came even though China has repeatedly accused him of seeking to "destroy" the Games and of fomenting unrest in Tibet to embarrass Beijing -- charges he has strenuously rejected.

The Dalai Lama has been a regular on the diplomatic stage for decades in his quest for more cultural autonomy for his remote Tibetan homeland.

He was thrust back into the spotlight when peaceful protests in Tibet flared into deadly violence in March, casting a shadow over the Games which Beijing sees as a showcase for its rising status.

Exiled Tibetan leaders say 203 people died in the clampdown, although China has reported killing just one Tibetan "insurgent" and accused "rioters" of being responsible for 21 deaths.

Clad in the maroon robes of a monk, he is loved by supporters for his contagious laugh and engaging grin, set off by oversized glasses, and is regarded by many as a visionary equal to Indian independence icon Mahatma Ghandi.

His title translates as "Ocean Teacher," a metaphor for the depth of his spirituality. But the Nobel peace laureate has been branded by China as a "monster" trying to split the nation.

The Dalai Lama fled his Himalayan homeland after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. He champions a non-violent campaign for greater "cultural autonomy" for the region from his exile base here in northern India.

Leaders such as Gandhi and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. "have shown us successful changes can be brought about non-violently," the Dalai Lama says.

He has been a powerful rallying point for the six million Tibetans living in exile or in their homeland, while also being a friend to kings, politicians, celebrities and the poor.

Born into a peasant farming family in the Tibetan village of Taksar on July 6, 1935, Lhamo Dhondrub was chosen as the 14th incarnation of the Dalai Lama at the age of two.

Considered a Buddhist Master exempt from the religion's wheel of death and reincarnation, he was taken to the capital Lhasa's palace to be trained to lead his people. But at 16 he was called on to become head of state when China invaded Tibet in 1950.

He tried to keep the peace but the effort failed in 1959 when China poured troops into the region to crush an uprising and reneged on a pledge to grant Tibet autonomy.

The Dalai Lama, disguised as a soldier, trekked for 13 days through the Himalayas and crossed into India, which offered him Dharamshala as a base and allowed him to set up a government-in-exile.

According to officials, at least 100,000 Tibetans live in exile in India which, after fighting a war with China in 1962, barred the Dalai Lama from using its soil as a springboard for a Tibetan independence movement.

The Dalai Lama's campaign to reclaim Tibet slowly morphed into a plea to Chinese authorities for autonomy for his people. He insists his moderate "middle path" approach to the impasse is in the Tibetans' best interests.

His calming influence has so far managed to bridge a divide between moderates within the Tibetan government-in-exile and hardliners who oppose any deal with China short of full independence.

But moderates fear the recent violence in Tibet could radicalise the movement.

"Use of force by China has caused great disturbance to Tibetans and we fear the Tibetans will lose the direction" of what has been a non-violent freedom struggle, the government-in-exile's premier Samdhong Rinpochehe said recently.

Tibet crackdown goes on despite Olympics: Dalai Lama

PARIS (AFP) — The Dalai Lama accused China Wednesday of pursuing its crackdown in Tibet in spite of the Olympic Games, French lawmakers said following talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

Asked during a private meeting at the Paris Senate whether China was respecting the "Olympic truce", the Dalai Lama's "answer was very clear: no," said former French justice minister Robert Badinter.

"While the Games are taking place, the oppression of the Tibetan people and repression continue," said the opposition lawmaker, who oversaw the abolition of the death penalty in France.

The 73-year-old Buddhist leader, who arrived Monday for a 12-day visit to France, "described terrible repression that has not stopped despite the Olympic truce," added Socialist deputy Jean-Louis Bianco.

"Since March there have been arrests, executions and a fearsome reinforcement of China's military presence."

He said the Buddhist leader suggested China was planning an "accelerated policy of colonisation, with perhaps a million extra Chinese who would come to occupy Tibet and dilute the Tibetan population."

The Dalai Lama's 90-minute talks with French lawmakers, held in a small room at the Senate rather than a main reception suite, were the only political encounter of a trip that falls squarely during the Beijing Olympics.

But a minister announced Wednesday that President Nicolas Sarkozy would host the Tibetan spiritual leader at a ceremony for Nobel peace laureates in Paris on December 10.

Roger Karoutchi, secretary of state for relations with parliament, said in a statement that "the president of the republic will receive all Nobel peace prize winners, including the Dalai Lama, in Paris on December 10."

He did not specify whether the two men would meet face to face. Sarkozy's office did not confirm plans for a meeting.

Planned more than two years ago, the Dalai Lama's French visit suddenly turned political after a Chinese crackdown on unrest in Tibet in March that sparked international outrage.

Sarkozy was accused of giving in to Chinese pressure by not meeting the Buddhist leader, instead sending his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy to see him inaugurate a Buddhist temple in southern France next week.

The Dalai Lama's entourage said he did not seek a meeting with Sarkozy to avoid angering China.

Asked as he left the Senate whether he would answer the French invitation, the Dalai Lama said he would be in the Netherlands on December 10, but that he would "like" to come to Paris.

Speaking to reporters earlier, the Buddhist leader took a more conciliatory line towards China, saying the international community "mustn't isolate" the giant, and had a duty to bring it towards greater democracy.

"The world community has more responsibility to bring China into (the) mainstream of world democracy," he told a news conference.

"On certain principles... democracy, human rights, religious freedom, rule of law... we must be firm."

France is struggling to mend ties with China frayed by Sarkozy's initial threat to boycott the opening of the Beijing Games, together with pro-Tibet protests during the passage of the Olympic flame through Paris.

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said Wednesday he hoped that "France can properly handle Tibet-related issues."

The Buddhist leader will spend most of his remaining 10 days in France teaching in the western city of Nantes. He repeated on Wednesday that his visit was "mainly for spirituality, not political".

On Tuesday, the Dalai Lama gave his blessing to a new Buddhist temple south of Paris, the largest country in a country that is home to an estimated 770,000 Buddhists, three quarters of them of Asian origin.

In France, Dalai Lama reaffirms Olympic support

EVRY, France (AP) — The Dalai Lama sent China a message of good will for the Olympics and skirted the contentious issue of Tibet at the start of his 12-day visit to France on Tuesday.

The Tibetan spiritual leader is spending most of the duration of the Beijing Olympics in France, with only one political event on his schedule — closed-door talks with French lawmakers on Wednesday. His trip is focused mainly on Buddhist teachings and reaching out to his flock of hundreds of thousands in France.

Though some of his supporters have protested Beijing's hosting of the Games, the Dalai Lama has sought recently to ease tensions and offered prayers and good wishes to the Chinese people last week before the Olympics opened.

He repeated that message Tuesday after visiting a pagoda under construction south of Paris.

"I fully support the Olympics in China. ... The People's Republic of China deserves to play host to the Games," he said in answer to a reporter's question.

France has many pro-Tibetan activists who protested as the Olympic flame passed through Paris in April, angry about China's harsh crackdown on the demonstrations in March.

At a Buddhist institute run by an exiled Tibetan in Veneux Les Sablons, outside Paris on Tuesday, the Dalai Lama offered prayers and greeted the town's mayor and representatives of other religions.

Later, he gave a talk on peace and nonviolence at a Vietnamese pagoda being built in Evry, south of Paris. But he did not openly link those issues to Tibet and China, and he made no mention of Tibet's status.

"Whenever we face conflict, we have to use dialogue," he said.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has decided not to meet with the Tibetan spiritual leader while the Olympics are in progress.

Japanese MP meets Dalai Lama, supports Tibetan cause

Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh), Aug 6 (IANS) A Japanese MP Wednesday met the Dalai Lama and called for improving human rights in Tibet. Jin Matsubara said any form of suppression of freedom and human rights by any government should be denounced.

He said that with the growing support for Tibetan cause in Japan, a committee had been set up to support the freedom of people in Tibet.

The committee has members from both the ruling and opposition parties of Japan.

Deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile Dolma Gyari said: “It’s a clear indication of Japan’s support and solidarity for Tibet during its critical moment”.

“His commitment to visit us despite many difficulties sends a strong message of support for the Tibetan cause,” she added.

The Tibetan-government-in-exile is based in Dharamsala and is not recognised by any country in the world.

US presidential hopeful Obama says backs "people of Tibet"

DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — US presidential hopeful Barack Obama has sent a letter to the Dalai Lama backing the rights of the "people of Tibet," a spokesman for the exiled Buddhist spiritual leader said.
"I wanted to take the opportunity to reassure you of my highest respect and support for you, your mission and your people at this critical time," Obama said in the letter, whose receipt was confirmed by the Dalai Lama's office late Wednesday.
Obama's Republican presidential rival John McCain met the Dalai Lama to discuss Tibet last week in Aspen, Colorado, where the spiritual leader addressed a Tibetan cultural seminar.
Obama, who has been on a whirlwind foreign trip meeting world leaders, expressed regret in the letter that "our respective travel schedules will prevent us from meeting" during the Dalai Lama's visit to the United States.
But he said he hoped the letter and the meeting with McCain "will make clear that American attention to and backing for the people of Tibet is widespread and transcends the divisions of our political contest."
The Secretary of the Dalai Lama Chhime R. Chhoekyapa confirmed the Dalai Lama received Obama's letter sent July 24 but declined to make any comment.
Obama in his letter praised the Dalai Lama's non-violent tactics and contributions to bringing understanding between people of different backgrounds.
After McCain met the Dalai Lama last Friday, China warned him to stop "supporting and conniving with" the spiritual leader, saying meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader hurt Sino-US relations.
McCain has criticised China's record on human rights in Tibet, which was thrown into the international spotlight in March during a crackdown on protests against Chinese rule that began in the region's capital, Lhasa.
The protests spread to other parts of China with Tibetan populations, with the government-in-exile saying 203 Tibetans were killed in the crackdown.
Beijing says only one Tibetan was killed, and has in turn accused the "rioters" of killing 21 people in the protests that cast a shadow over the August Olympics.
China has ruled Tibet since 1951, a year after sending troops in to "liberate" the remote Himalayan region.
The Dalai Lama fled his homeland in 1959 following a failed uprising and has since lived in exile in India.
China accuses the Dalai Lama of being a separatist, but he insists he does not want independence for Tibet, seeking only greater autonomy for the Himalayan territory as well as an end to religious and cultural repression.