Beijing (AsiaNews) – The Dalai Lama’s two envoys yesterday concluded their talks with the Chinese government and today headed back to Daramshala to inform the Tibetan spiritual leader of their outcome. The two envoys, Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, will almost certainly hold a press conference following their meeting with the Dalai Lama. In a letter, the Tibetan leader reaffirmed his commitment to “We are committed to resolving the issue of Tibet through dialogue and discussion in finding a mutually acceptable solution, that is, within the constitution of the People's Republic of China”.
Officially, there has been no communication regarding the outcome of the talks. Chinese media did not even report on the meetings taking place. Contrary to this in the Tibet Daily, official paper of the communist party in the region, party secretary, Zhang Qingli, launched a series of heated accusations against the “Dalai clique” and its involvement in the March protests which led to the military repression and isolation of Tibet. Months ago Zhang accused the Dalai Lama of being “a devil dressed in monks robes”, “a beast, a wolf with a human face and animal heart”, and he had also accused him of plotting the Lhasa protests together with “hostile western forces”.
Yesterday’s was the second round of talks since the violent repression of Tibet last March. China accepted to enter into dialogue with the Dalai Lama envoys after increased international pressure and threats of a boycott of the Olympic Games. In the past, in 2002, there had already been attempts at a China-Tibet dialogue, but no progress was made at the time. Beijing continues to accuse the Dalai Lama of being bent on destroying Chinese unity and of wanting to bring independence to the Tibetan region. For his part the Dalai Lama has long maintained that he is not seeking independence from Beijing but only “religious and cultural autonomy” to save Tibet from “cultural genocide”.