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April 21, 2008
Dalai Lama: 'Nothing positive' has come from talks with China
Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News
ANN ARBOR -- The Dalai Lama said Friday that he has made contact with the Chinese government since violence broke out in Tibet last month.
"But nothing positive has come from it," he said.
Speaking at a press conference here at the start of a three-day visit, the Dalai Lama said that he had appealed to China's president, Hu Jintao, and had established "private channels."
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The exiled Tibetan leader appeared to hold out little hope that his decades-long struggle for an autonomous Tibet was any closer to reality.
He also reiterated his complete support for the Olympics, which are to take place in Beijing in August.
"Right from the beginning, I fully support the Olympics. A country of four billion people should be very proud and we must respect their dedication."
The Dalai Lama said that "despite a very sad situation inside Tibet, the Olympics should continue.
"I have seen the disturbances when the torch travels the world. I feel very sorry, but I fully understand the frustration," he said.
The Dalai Lama is in Michigan to talk about compassion and the environment. He will give a special address at the University of Michigan on Sunday on sustainability. The environmental issue that addresses preserving the resources of the planet.
Much of his time will likely be spent discussing the tenets and principles of Tibetan Buddhism, but at the press conference Friday, he was questioned more about his role as the head of the Tibetan government in exile.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959, nine years after the communist Chinese government invaded Tibet. In India, he has set up a government in exile.
For centuries, all of the Dalai Lamas have been both head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. The Dalai Lama is the 14th and the first to travel internationally.
The Dalai Lama's appearances in Ann Arbor are accompanied by heavy security. Forty members of the international press corps traveled with him amid tight security that included a bomb-sniffing dog.
Chinese students say they plan to demonstrate during the weekend. But they say their issues are not necessarily with the Dalai Lama.
"It will be a peaceful demonstration because of the violence that happened in Tibet on March 14," said Youjian Chi, 23, a biology student at Michigan from China's Fujan Province. "We think it has been distorted by a lot of the media. And we just want to make our voice heard. We want peace for Tibet.
"Some people are saying they want to boycott the Beijing Olympics," Youjian said. "We just want to say, 'Keep the politics out of the Beijing Olympics'."
Youjian said several hundred Chinese students are expected to demonstrate outside of Crisler Arena on Sunday, including students from several campuses around Michigan.
"We will not protest the Dalai Lama, but it depends what he says," Youjian said. "If it is compassion and sustainability, that is a good thing. We won't protest that. And the Dalai Lama also says Tibet is part of China, and the Chinese are brothers and sisters. We agreed with that too.
"But a lot of his followers have committed a lot of violence, and that is what we protest."
You can reach Gregg Krupa at (313) 222-2359 or gkrupa@detnews.com.
Posted by google at April 21, 2008 04:16 PM