| |
DHARAMSHALA, India : The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist spiritual leader, said Friday he was "deeply concerned" over the situation in Tibet and appealed to China to "stop using force" there.
The statement from the Nobel peace laureate came after Tibet's capital Lhasa erupted in violence Friday as security forces used gunfire to quell the biggest protests against Chinese rule in two decades, witnesses and rights groups said.
"I am deeply concerned over the situation that has been developing in Tibet following peaceful protests in many parts of Tibet, including Lhasa, in recent days," the Dalai Lama said.
"These protests are a manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment of the Tibetan people under the present governance," he said in a statement issued in Dharamshala, the northern Indian town where his government-in-exile is located.
"I therefore appeal to the Chinese leadership to stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people."
"As I have always said, unity and stability under brute force is at best a temporary solution," said the 72-year-old Dalai Lama.
"It is unrealistic to expect unity and stability under such a rule and would therefore not be conducive to finding a peaceful and lasting solution."
On Monday on the 49th anniversary of his escape to India after an abortive uprising in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama had attacked China's human rights record, accusing Beijing of "unimaginable and gross violations" in his homeland.
The violence comes amid an ever-growing international campaign by Tibetans to challenge China's rule of the Himalayan region ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.
It followed three days of protests by hundreds of monks in Lhasa, India and elsewhere around the world marking the anniversary of the failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. - AFP/ms
|
