‘Chinese dressed as monks behind Tibet violence’

At a press conference, he sought the help of the international community to bring China to the dialogue table, saying the Tibetans had ‘no power’ to do so.

“Tibetans are non-violent people,” the spiritual leader maintained rubbishing allegations by China that he and his supporters were behind the recent violence in Tibet.

He suggested that China itself could be behind the violence as he said, “we have heard about a few hundred Chinese soldiers received monks’ dress.”

“They (soldiers) dressed like monks. So, for a lay person, they will look like monks. But the swords they had, were not Tibetan, they were Chinese swords,” he said, apparently responding to China’s campaign that monks had indulged in violence.

Maintaining that he has ‘no desire to seek Tibet’s separation’ nor ‘any wish to drive a wedge between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples’, the Dalai Lama expressed willingness to work with the Chinese authorities to ‘bring about peace and stability in Tibet’.

The Dalai Lama, who earlier led an inter-faith prayer at Rajghat in the memory of those killed in Lhasa, said his primary concern was to ensure the survival of the Tibetan people’s distinctive culture, language and identity.

“My side is open for dialogue. We are waiting to hear from the Chinese side,” he said before heading back to Dharamshala, the seat of his ‘government-in-exile’.

“We have no power to bring China to the dialogue table. We have only truth and sincerity. That is why we are appealing to the world community, please help,” the Tibetan leader said.

He said the attitude of the Chinese government over the next few weeks would be crucial to decide the future of his ‘middle-path’ approach to resolve the Tibet issue.

Expressing his keenness to return to Tibet, the Dalai Lama said it would be of ‘no use’ if he had to return without a ‘certain degree of freedom’.