Dalai Lama 'will go to China'

2003-09-25 10:40

Washington - The spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, said on Wednesday he was willing to do almost anything to settle the issue of Tibet, even if it meant going to China personally.

"To find a mutual agreement or solution, I am ready to meet the Chinese leadership or, if I get a chance, to meet the Tibetans inside Tibet and explain or clarify my position," he told the Voice of America, a United States government-funded broadcasting service.

"I believe this would be very beneficial," he emphasised, rejecting the notion he had any separatist designs.

"I have reiterated like a mantra that I am not seeking independence, I am not trying to separate Tibet from China," he said.

"I am seeking only a genuine autonomy for Tibet, but the Chinese leadership has a hard time believing what I am saying. This is why a face-to-face meeting is very important."

Wants to clear up misunderstandings

The Buddhist spiritual leader pointed out the situation was so urgent he was ready to send his envoys to China for talks at any time.

The Dalai Lama expressed hope that renewed contact with the Chinese leadership would build confidence and trust and clear up misunderstandings and suspicions among them.

He said the economic development of the last 20 or 30 years and China's contact with the outside world had changed the way the Chinese people thought.

More and more Chinese wanted democracy, freedom and rule by law, he said, adding he always had believed these changes within China would have a positive impact on resolving the Sino-Tibetan problem.

China has controlled Tibet since 1951, when it reoccupied the region which until then had existed under theocratic Buddhist rule.

- AFP