Condoleezza Rice on Tibet

Condoleezza Rice Urges China to Change Tibet Policy

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-24-voa35.cfm

In an unprecedent move, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is encouraging China to reconsider its policy towards Tibet and to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Secretary Rice says there should be a peaceful resolution to the problems in Tibet, and says the Dalai Lama could help.

"We believe that the Dalai Lama could play a very favorable role, given his belief in nonviolence, given his stated position that he does not seek political independence for Tibet, and given his unassailable, authoritative moral stature, not just with the people of Tibet, but with people from around the world," she said.

This is hardly likely to go down well with the Chinese who recently described the Dalai Lama as a 'jackal'. Presumably because he is not too pleased that Mao Tse Tung sent the Chinese army to invade his country.

Condoleezza Rice met with Pranab Mukherjee the Indian Foreign Minister on Monday. She told reporters that it would be unacceptable if violence were to be used in the Tibet conflict, and that China should try to evolve a more sustainable policy. She did not mention the fact that the Dalai Lama has stated that 130 people have been killed in Tibet.

Foreign Minister Mukherjee agreed that it could be helpful for the Dalai Lama's to be involved in negotiations. He also said that the 180,000 Tibetans living in India are free to practice their religion as they see fit, but they should refrain from taking part in political activities in India. This is rather difficult as their very presence in India is a political activity, as they are there to escape from Chinese oppression in their own country.

China's reaction so far is the same as it has been for the last 50 years. They know that they have a population of over a billion and the largest army in the world, so in typical Chinese inscrutable fashion they restrict themselves to repeating "Mind your own business!".