Dharamsala, March 12 – The exile Tibetan government said if the Beijing leadership took the initiative it is ready for resumption of talks with China. Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of exile government based here, said the “ball is in China’s court”.
Speaking at a news conference, Rinpoche said, “The present leadership may not be willing to engage with us to progress the dialogue process, but they are not permanent leadership.”
“If the present leadership do not wish to take the credit of resolving the Tibetan issue, the next leadership will take the credit.”
Rinpoche said the Tibetan side is fully determined in their struggle for genuine autonomy irrespective of Chinese leaders’ willingness to engage the Tibetans.
“As far as we are concerned we are prepared for another 100 years of struggle. The inspiration is there. So we have no worry.”
The first directly elected prime minister of the Tibetan exiles further said that delaying the issue will not let the matter die down. “This is absolutely a mistake on Chinese part,” he said, referring to China’s game of waiting for the Dalai Lama to pass away in the hope that Tibet issue will also disappear.
Like the Dalai Lama, Rinpoche believes that “the people of China is with us.”
Talks between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and Beijing came to a standoff after 8 round of talks failed to bring out any positive outcome. A memorandum presented by the Tibetan side during the 8th round of talks with China met with derision with China blaming the Tibetan side of seeking “disguised independence”.
