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Dalai Lama asks Tibetans to be prudent

By Lobsang Wangyal | Tibet Sun

The Dalai Lama during a press conference in Dharamshala, India, on 23 November 2008. He said he is not planning to retire as the Tibetan leader and asked Tibetans to be prudent considering he age.Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal/India

The Dalai Lama asked Tibetans to be prudent considering his age, and to understand the danger that lies ahead of the Tibetan people.

“I am 73 years old. We have to be realistic,” he said. “We must be innovative in our ways to sustain the Tibetan people.”

Though the Dalai Lama says he is in ‘semi-retirement’, he said he will not retire until the Tibetan issue is resolved.

“Once the Tibetan issue is resolved, I will commit my life to the promotion of human values and inter-religious harmony,” he said.

He said he may name a successor before he passes away, as in the Christian clergy. “If Tibetans want to go the traditional way of finding a reincarnation, the next reincarnation could even be a girl.”

Earlier he met the delegates of the Special Meeting to decide on the future of Tibet. He said that the idea of the ‘Middle-way’ approach was first floated in 1974 after much deliberation with other Tibetan leaders.

The then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping told the Dalai Lama’s emissary Gyalo Thondup in 1979 that except for Tibetan independence, any other issue could be discussed.

“When Deng made that remark, we were ready to present the ‘Middle-Way’ proposal,” he said.

Since then contacts were established between the two sides. However, the contacts broke down in 1993, and were then reestablished in 2002.

After eight rounds of talks have produced no tangible results, the Dalai Lama declared the failure of the talks and asked the Tibetan people to get together for the Special Meeting.

“My trust in the Chinese government is becoming thinner and thinner, but I still have faith in the Chinese people,” the Dalai Lama said.

Although the majority of the participants in the Special Meeting favoured the continuation of the ‘Middle-Way’ policy, they recommended that talks be scrapped until China responds positively.

The Dalai Lama said that whether to suspend talks will be known after a month. “Wait a month and you will see.”

However, if the ‘middle way’ does not produce any results in the near future, then options to adopt a demand for independence or self-determination remain open.

Speaking about India’s stand on Tibet, the Dalai Lama said, “India is over-cautious.”

Copyright © 2008 Tibet Sun

Published in Tibet Sun