By ANGUS MCDONALD,
Associated Press Writer
DHARMSALA, India – In a subdued speech, the Dalai Lama criticized China’s human rights policy but praised Beijing for some positive developments as his supporters staged protests to mark the anniversary of Tibetans’ failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
Tibetan Buddhists, living in the northern Indian city of Dharmsala, held a low-key protest march to mark the day when the Dalai Lama led a rebellion against Chinese forces in his homeland. The rebellion was crushed and the Tibetan spiritual leader fled to India, where he set up his government-in-exile.
The Dalai Lama’s speech was milder in content and tone from previous years.
He noted the release of a number of prominent political prisoners last year, but criticized the execution of a Tibetan man and the death sentence given to another, for political activities.
The Tibetan government-in-exile has taken a conciliatory line toward Beijing since the Dalai Lama was allowed to send a delegation to Tibet, the first in 17 years, last September.
“I was pleased that the Chinese government made it possible for my envoys to visit Beijing to re-establish direct contact with the Chinese leadership and to also visit Tibet to interact with the leading local Tibetan officials,” the Dalai Lama said.
The crowd listening to him was the smallest in years, apparently due to the appeals of Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of the exiled Tibetans, for a suspension of protests to facilitate dialogue with China.
“I was encouraged that the exchange of views was friendly and meaningful,” the Dalai Lama said of the envoys’ visit to China. “It is my sincere hope that the Chinese leadership will find the courage, vision and wisdom for new openings to solve the Tibetan issue through dialogue.”
In New Delhi, more than 2,000 activists of the independent Tibetan Youth Congress, who favor a more aggressive approach, threw leaflets, screamed independence slogans, and burned Chinese flags before Indian policemen used batons to remove them.
Many protesters scuffled with police and tried to scale security barricades. Tibetan women wailed as police pushed them away. Some protesters were arrested and later released.
The activists also appealed to the International Olympic Committee to reconsider its decision to hold the next Olympic Games in China in 2008.
