After the close of a week-long Tibetan
exile meeting to chart their future political course, the spiritual leader the
Dalai Lama warned Sunday the movement could fail if leaders were not prudent
over the next 20 years, dpa reported.
The Dalai Lama called the special conference in the northern Indian town
of Dharamsala because he felt his "middle-way" policy for greater
autonomy was leading nowhere, due to the "non-cooperation" of the
Chinese leadership.
"My faith is getting thinner in the Chinese government," he said
again, in his Sunday address, according to aides. "But my trust in Chinese
public is strong."
He also said most exiles at the meeting supported the middle way approach,
which he endorsed, and various options were discussed at the meeting. He
dismissed calls for independence impractical for now, his aides said.
"The next 20 years if we are not careful, if we are not prudent in our
plans there is great danger. It could lead to the danger of failure," he
said.
At a press briefing Sunday, the Dalai Lama said he would not be retiring, and
would work for the Tibetan cause till his death, IANS news agency reported.
"There is no point or question of retirement. It is my moral responsibility
until my death to work for the Tibetan cause," he was quoted as saying.
In a report posted on its website Saturday, the Tibetan government-in-exile
said the special meeting had unanimously reaffirmed Tibetan people's faith and
allegiance to the Dalai Lama.
The meeting had also decided "to continue to follow the middle way
approach to engage China in finding a resolution to the Tibetan issue,"
the report said.
But it said delegates called on the government-in-exile "to terminate the
ongoing talks with the Chinese leadership if the Chinese government does not
agree to the demands and reciprocate positively to the overtures of the Tibetan
people."
"If China does not respond, we will have no option but to go for complete
independence and self-determination," Dolma Gyari, the deputy speaker of
the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, was quoted as saying by IANS.
The meeting also produced consensus to remain a non-violent movement.
Karma Choephel, speaker of the parliament-in-exile, said the meeting was
necessary because the Chinese government had challenged the right of the Dalai
Lama to represent the 6 million Tibetan people, both in Tibet and in exile.
The meeting reaffirmed the faith of the exiles in the Dalai Lama, he said,
adding that envoys urged the Chinese leadership to hold a referendum inside
Tibet to see whom they consider to represent them.
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