Tibetan exiles back Dalai Lama at Special Meeting

24 November

Tibetans have strongly endorsed the leadership of the Dalai Lama and his Middle Way approach which seeks genuine autonomy within the Chinese constitution. But Tibetan exiles did not rule out a potential shift towards full independence as a goal if there were no signs of engagement from the Chinese government in a dialogue process “in the near future”.

The endorsement of the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way approach came on 22 November following the conclusion of a six-day “Special Meeting” in Dharamsala, called by the Dalai Lama.

Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, Mr Karma Choepel, stated that the opinions and suggestions of the delegates to the meeting had been summarized in a final report which would be submitted to the Dalai Lama for his consideration.

According to the BBC the Dalai Lama refused to comment on the outcome of the meeting, saying instead that he would not make any comments for “a month”. The Dalai Lama had earlier said that he would not attend the meeting as his presence might inhibit full discussion.

Over 500 Tibetan exiles attended the meeting. According to Mr Choepel participants re-affirmed“that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the sole representative and leader of the Tibetan people”. In the final report it was recommended that “we shall not deviate from the path of non-violence” regardless of whether the Tibetan people chose genuine autonomy or full independence as their ultimate goal*.

The report also suggested that talks between envoys of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government should be suspended until the Chinese leadership proved itself to be serious about re-engaging itself sincerely in a dialogue process aimed at resolving the Tibetan issue.

According to the Tibetan news website, Phayul, some 17,000 Tibetans inside Tibet had been consulted for their views on future strategies forTibet. More than 8000 said they would follow the Dalai Lama and more than 3000 endorsed the Dalai Lama’s Middle-Way approach.

·         The complete recommendations from the meeting are available on the website of the Tibetan Central Administration at:http://www.tibet.net/en/index.php?id=546&articletype=flash&rmenuid=morenews

For further information: Matt Whitticase: +44 (0)20 7324 4605 / +44 (0)7515 788456
Or e-mail matt@freetibet.org