DHARAMSALA : The Tibetan Temporal leader, the Dalai Lama today demanded to set up an international probe into the Chinese crackdown against protesters in Lhasa where Beijing was carrying out a “cultural genocide”.
He made it clear that he did not oppose the holding of Beijing Olympics in August. I have, from the very beginning, supported the idea that China should be granted the opportunity to host the Olympic Games. Since such international sporting events, and especially the Olympics, uphold the principles of freedom of speech, freedom of expression, equality and friendship,he said. His Holiness said,Some respected international organisations can find out what the situation is in Tibet and what is the cause.
While addressing the Media Persons the Dalai Lama said “The Tibet nation is facing serious danger. Whether China admits or not, there is a problem. He said that the international community had the “moral responsibility” to remind China to be a good host for the Olympics, but added that China deserved to host the games. The Dalai Lama says he is completely committed to non-violence and denies that he was behind the violence in Tibet. He said In Tibet today, due to the Chinese government’s numerous actions, driven as they are by a lack of foresight, the natural environment has been severely damaged. As a consequence, Tibetans are increasingly being assimilated into the larger Chinese population. In Tibet, repression continues to increase with numerous, unimaginable and gross violations of human rights, denial of religious freedom and the politicisation of religious issues. All these take place as a result of the Chinese government’s lack of respect for the Tibetan people. These are major obstacles the Chinese government deliberately puts in the way of its policy of unifying nationalities which discriminate between the Tibetan and Chinese people.
Dalai Lama offered prayers for peace and security of his fellow countrymen after the violent anti-China protests in his homeland that claimed at least 10 lives. The Dalai Lama offered prayers in Tibetans main temple at Macleodganj for peace and security of his fellow Tibetans subjected to “brute force” by the Chinese.While the Dalai Lama offered prayers, hundreds of Tibetans sat on dharna outside the temple in support of pro-independence street protesters in Lhasa.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Tibetans today held a protest march from Macleodganj to Dharamsala raising anti-China slogans.
