|
Dalai Lama's tip for Olympics
27/03/2008 19:13 - (SA)
New Delhi - The world should use the Beijing Olympics as an opportunity to remind China of its human rights record, the Dalai Lama said. But he stopped short of calling for a boycott of the Summer Games.
"To be a good Olympics host, China must improve their records in the field of human right and religious freedom and environment," the Tibetan leader told NDTV, a private Indian news channel, in an interview to be broadcast on Friday. "It is very logical, very reasonable."
A transcript of the interview was provided by NDTV.
Violent protests in Tibet and other parts of China have cast a spotlight on Beijing's rights record in the Himalayan region, and shattered China's hopes for a peaceful run-up to the Olympics.
The Chinese government says 22 people died in violence that began March 14, while Tibetan exiles say the violence and a harsh crackdown afterward left nearly 140 people dead.
Beijing has pinned the blame for the violence on the Dalai Lama and said he was trying to sabotage the Olympics. The Dalai Lama has denied the accusation and threatened to resign as leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile if violence goes out of control.
The Dalai Lama said the world community should remind China about its record in human rights, religious freedom, the environment and Tibet.
"These we must remind them of," he said.
The recent protests, which began on the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule, have been China's biggest challenge in the region in almost two decades.
Over the centuries, Tibet was at times part of China's dynastic empires. Communist forces invaded the region in 1950 to reclaim the Himalayan region.
|
News
