Dalai Lama says his aides are talking to China

Western leaders have encouraged China to resume discussions with the Dalai Lama in the wake of the unrest in Tibet, which began on March 10.

As recently as Saturday, President Hu Jintao echoed other Chinese leaders who have accused the Dalai Lama of encouraging violence. Hu left open the door for dialogue but only if “the Dalai side stops activities splitting the motherland, stops activities scheming and instigating violence, and stops activities sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games,” according to Xinhua, the government’s official news agency.

The Dalai Lama, who is in Seattle for a conference, told reporters on Sunday that he was unaware of the comments by Hu and, as he has done repeatedly, denied that he had played any role in the violence. He noted that he had also been criticised by some Tibetans who have said his strategy of nonviolence has produced little change.

He rejected the suggestion that Tibetan leaders might make concessions to engage in more extensive dialogue with China. “We’ve become refugees,” he said, adding that Tibetans had little left to concede.

Asked whether he would accept an invitation to the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, he laughed and said he did not expect to receive one. More important, he said, was for China to take steps to earn the international respect and trust it hopes the Olympics will help nurture. As part of doing this, he said, China should release Tibetans arrested since the protests began and provide those injured with proper medical care.

He also said China should open Tibet to the news media. “Let them go there, see the actual situation,” he said.