Dalai Lama to fast for peace

2008-08-29 14:05

Mumbai - The Dalai Lama was doing well after undergoing initial tests in a hospital in western India on Friday and planned to participate in a 12-hour fast for peace, officials said.

The Dalai Lama's doctors said there was "absolutely no cause for concern. All that he needs is a good rest", according to a statement released by the Dalai Lama's office. The statement offered no other details about his medical condition.

A spokesperson for Lilavati Hospital, where the Dalai Lama is being treated, confirmed that the 73-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader was in good condition, and that he walked into the hospital himself when he was admitted on Thursday.

"The Dalai Lama is hale and hearty," said hospital spokesperson Mohan Rajan. He did not say when the Dalai Lama would be discharged.

The fast for freedom in Tibet was scheduled for Saturday and supporters planned to participate, his office said.

The Dalai Lama checked into the hospital on Thursday, a day after his office said he was suffering from exhaustion and would cancel two planned international trips.

The Dalai Lama will rest for several days in Mumbai, India's financial capital, before returning to Dharmsala, where he has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against China.

The Dalai Lama had just returned to India from an 11-day visit to France, capping an intense few months since riots against Chinese rule broke out in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, and the subsequent government crackdown.

The spiritual leader spends several months a year travelling the globe to highlight the struggle of Tibetans for greater freedom in China and to teach Buddhism.

However, all of his appointments and visits for the coming three weeks have been cancelled, including the trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, said Thupten Samphel, the spokesperson of the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile.

Since the March outbreak of violence in Tibet, China has stepped up its campaign to vilify him, blaming him for the recent 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 the Himalayan region to protect its Buddhist culture.

- AP