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Top US lawmaker hails Dalai Lama on birthday

AFP

The Dalai Lama greets artistes after a performance celebrating his 75th birthday celebration at Tsugla Khang temple in Mcleod Ganj, India, on 6 July 2010.Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal/India

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed the Dalai Lama on his 75th birthday Tuesday as “a man of peace and wisdom” and urged China to hold serious talks with him on his homeland of Tibet.

“His Holiness has expressed a willingness to visit China and engage directly with high level officials. It is my sincere hope that Beijing will send a confident message by inviting His Holiness to China for substantive discussions,” she said in a statement.

The Democratic lawmaker, a frequent critic of China’s human rights record, said the exiled spiritual leader “has made the human rights situation in Tibet an issue of international concern, and it is long past time to resolve it.”

“A negotiated agreement would ensure internal stability in Tibet and bolster China’s reputation in the world,” said Pelosi.

“On the 75th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, I offer my continued appreciation of his life?s work promoting compassion, peace, and human rights for all of the people of the world,” she said.

China views the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959, as a dangerous separatist.

The Dalai Lama favours meaningful autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule, but Beijing accuses him of inciting unrest with a hidden pro-independence agenda. Decades of on-off negotiations with China have made no tangible progress.

Copyright © 2010 AFP

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