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.