Chinese media continued attacks on the Dalai Lama Sunday, prompting doubts over the sincerity of China's offer of dialogue with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the dpa reported.
The People's Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, in a commentary carried by the official Xinhua news agency, criticized the Dalai Lama as a "master of rhetoric" saying his attempt to "split the motherland" - Tibet from China - was "doomed to failure."
Xinhua, in another article, also accused the Tibetan government, which is exiled in Dharamsala, India - and the "Dalai Lama clique" of having "meticulously planned and organized" the unrest in Tibet.
China's state media adopted a sharp tone against the Tibetan religious leader just a day after China announced it would in the "in the coming days" initiate contact with the Tibetan side.
The "Dalai clique" was doing everything possible to undermine Tibet's stability and development, the People's Daily wrote on Saturday.
Beijing's talks offer has been broadly welcomed by the international community, but Tibetan activists are sceptical and have asked that the pressure on China be maintained.
Until now, the offer remained "vague" and information on the specifics of the invitation and who will represent each of the sides, Britain's Free Tibet Campaign said. China was meanwhile "continuing to peddle its baseless allegations that the Dalai Lama is inciting violence in Tibet."
The campaign also called for "substantive steps" for restoring normality to Tibet. Beijing's offer of talks was nothing more than "window-dressing" and merely to deflect criticism of Chinese action in Tibet ahead of the Olympic Games.
"It's too early to tell if the meeting will produce results or is just for PR purposes in advance of the Olympics," the International Campaign for Tibet said in Berlin on Saturday. The advocacy group called for greater pressure on Beijing, particularly from the European Union.
On his return to India from the United States Saturday, the Dalai Lama himself on Sunday appeared positive about the talks offer. It did made sense for Beijing to want sincere dialogue.
His secretary Tenzin Takla added: " The Dalai Lama is always ready for talks. But dialogue is senseless without substance," he said. So far, the office of the Dalai Lama has received no invitation whatsoever from the government in Beijing.