Dalai Lama warns delegates of failure

The Dalai Lama warned Tibetan exile leaders to be prudent in their plans or risk failure, after they said they might push for independence for their homeland.

The Dalai Lama gestures as he addresses journalists in Dharamsala on Nov 23 2008.

DHARMSALA, INDIA // The Dalai Lama warned Tibetan exile leaders today to be prudent in their plans or risk failure, after they said at a key conference they might push for independence for their homeland if China refuses to grant it autonomy soon. The delegates ended their week-long conference on Saturday saying they had decided against seeking independence for now, and that they would maintain the Dalai Lama's "middle way" - his push for autonomy through measured compromise that falls short of calling for independence. But they also said they would push for independence if China fails to respond positively to their initiatives.

"The next 20 years, if we are not careful, if we are not prudent in our plans there is a great danger," the Dalai Lama said in an address to the exiled Tibetans today. "It could lead to the danger of failure." While the Buddhist spiritual leader did not specify what he meant, he appeared to be speaking about the larger Tibetan cause, which many exile leaders believe is at a major crossroads. The Dalai Lama was speaking to the more than 500 delegates from around the world who had gathered to discuss the way forward for the Tibetan movement.

The 73-year-old spiritual leader did not explain his comments when he addressed reporters later on, saying only that the week's meeting should not be viewed as final and that at least one more meeting of Tibetan leaders was likely in the next few weeks. He also reiterated that he would remain the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Since the early 1990s he said he would only consider stepping away from his role as spiritual leader when Tibet has more freedom. "With certain degree of freedom when we return, then I will hand over all my legitimate authority," he said. But he reiterated that he is semi-retired as a political leader, as he has said several times before. "All major decisions are in his hand," he said, pointing to Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile. "I am like senior adviser."

Dolma Gyari, the deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, said that delegates reaffirmed support for the Dalai Lama's approach - but also said it was time to end talks with Beijing. "Looking at the doings of China in recent times, we will not send the envoys for further contact," Mr Gyari said. But the leaders also vowed that if moderation does not produce results soon, they would call for independence - a dramatic break with a decades-long conciliatory approach to Beijing. "If China does not respond positively to our initiative, there is no other option left for us than to go for independence," Mr Gyari said. She did not mention a specific time frame, and took no questions.

The Dalai Lama told the delegates today: "My trust in Chinese officials is becoming thinner but my trust in the Chinese public is still alive and strong." He said there was a need for a "dialogue with the Chinese people" and suggested the possibility of bypassing the Chinese government and talking directly to the Chinese people. Any kind of direct access to the vast majority of Chinese people would be a near impossibility for the Tibetan leader.

The decisions by the 581 exile leaders who attended the meeting are only recommendations for the Tibetan parliament, which is to meet in March. The Dalai Lama called the meeting in Dharmsala, the north Indian mountain town where he has lived since fleeing Tibet following a failed rebellion in 1959. He summoned the exile leaders after publicly expressing frustration over the failure of his approach to yield results with China's government.

China says Tibet has been Chinese territory for 700 years, though many Tibetans argue it was effectively independent most of that time. Since Communist troops swept into Tibet in 1950, Chinese authorities have crushed any sign of Tibetan nationalist sentiment.

* AP