By Alan Crawford
March 25: Germany’s government said it’s “essential” that China holds talks with the Dalai Lama if it hopes to win over world public opinion before the Olympic Games, as French President Nicolas Sarkozy refused to rule out a boycott of the opening ceremony.
This summer’s Beijing Olympics “will be a success if the Chinese government realizes that it holds the key,” German government spokesman Thomas Steg told reporters in Berlin today.
“The Tibetans want to retain their culture; China has an interest in political stability and territorial integrity,” Steg said. “The federal government sees no alternative to a dialogue, a direct dialogue between both sides.”
China blames the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, for instigating the biggest protests in the territory in almost 20 years. The unrest began March 10 in the capital, Lhasa, and spread to neighboring provinces. Security forces have killed about 140 protesters since the demonstrations began, the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamshala, northern India, said in a statement yesterday. Chinese authorities say Lhasa rioters killed about 20 people March 14.
Sarkozy, who yesterday called on China to “rapidly return to and deepen” dialogue with representatives of the Dalai Lama, said that “all options are open” in regard to France’s reaction to the events in Tibet, Agence France-Presse reported.
“I appeal to the Chinese leaders’ sense of responsibility,” Sarkozy said during a visit to Tarbes in France’s Pyrenees region, according to AFP. “I want a dialogue to start and I will step up my response according to the response given by the Chinese authorities.”
`Shed Light’
China “would be extremely well advised to shed light” on the Tibetan unrest and allow the international media to report from those provinces hit by violence, “because without transparency it won’t be possible to win back the confidence of the public around the world,” Steg said.
France and Germany joined the U.S. in appealing to the Chinese authorities to listen to the grievances of Tibetans. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday called for “restraint,” adding: “We believe that the Dalai Lama could play a very favorable role.”
“As long as the Dalai gives up his separatist position and ceases separatist activities, the door for dialogue is always open,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in Beijing today. “Our position is quite clear and consistent: We will listen to what he says and what he does.”
Troops Deployed
China deployed troops in Tibet in 1950 and annexed the region a year later. The protests are the largest in Tibet since pro-independence demonstrations in 1989 prompted President Hu Jintao, then head of the region’s Communist Party, to impose martial law.
The Dalai Lama says he is committed to a peaceful solution and isn’t seeking independence for Tibet.
Nine people were arrested at the site of the ancient Olympics in Greece yesterday as protesters tried to disrupt a flame-lighting ceremony marking the start of the countdown to the Games in Beijing.
Qin said the protests in Greece were “shameful” and “unpopular.”
