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China wants India to block Dalai Lama's Dharamshala meet

By Saibal Dasgupta | TNN

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang at a press conference on 6 November. Gang announced on 13 November China’s request to India to block the proposed six-day meeting called by the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala from 17 November for exile Tibetans to discuss the future of Tibet.Xinhua/China

China on Thursday made a direct request to India for blocking the proposed six-day meeting organised by the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala from November 17 to discuss the future of Tibet.

“The Indian government has made solemn commitment about not allowing any anti-China activities on its soil. We hope that the commitment will be implemented,” Qin Gang, the foreign ministry spokesman said at a press conference on Thursday.

Anyone who participates in the meeting being organised by the Dalai Lama will not be liked by the Chinese people, he said. The Chinese government is against anyone trying to split the nation or raise such an issue in the international arena, he said.

The statement is aimed to put pressure on the Indian government, which may find it difficult to block the meeting in view of the vast support enjoyed by the Dalai Lama the world over.

India had earlier accepted China’s request to check pro-Tibet protestors demonstrating against the Olympic Games torch relay and trying to march to Tibet from Dharamshala in July and August. Chinese leaders had eagerly praised India’s efforts in this direction. They want New Delhi to act directly against the Dalai Lama this time, which is obviously going to put New Delhi in a spot.

Diplomats on the two sides are engaged in tough negotiations that may involve a trade-off if New Delhi agreed to take measures to stop the Dalai Lama from holding the meeting. But any sort of agreement has been made difficult because of the Arunachal Pradesh issue.

The Chinese foreign ministry recently challenged external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee’s claim that Arunachal is an integral part of India. Qin said on Tuesday that Mukherjee’s statement was contrary to historical facts as China does not accept the MacMohan Line and the border between the two nations has not yet been demarcated.

The Dalai Lama invoked article 59 of the Tibetan Charter that empowers him to call a ‘Special Meeting’ to discuss the future course of action as his envoys returned empty handed after secret meetings with Chinese government representatives. The past few weeks has seen the Tibetan leader complaining that he had “given up” on China and that his “faith in the Chinese government is thinning.”

The “special meeting” to be held in Dharamshala will be attended by past and present members of the cabinet in his government-in-exile, past and present members of the Tibetan parliament in exile, representatives of non-government organisations and intellectuals interested in the Tibetan issue.

Copyright © 2008 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.

Published in The Times of India