Envoys of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama returned to India yesterday after talks in China on the future of the troubled Himalayan region, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama said.
The two envoys arrived back in New Delhi following meetings with Chinese government representatives which began in Hunan, before moving to Beijing at the weekend, the Dalai Lama’s senior secretary Chhime Chhoekyapa said.
Chhoekyapa declined to provide any details of the talks that marked the first contact between the two sides since November 2008. The Chinese government has scheduled a press briefing for today.
Envoys Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen were scheduled to travel to the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala later yesterday to brief the prime minister of the exiled Tibetan government, Chhoekyapa said.
At the last round of talks, the Tibetans had handed over a memorandum insisting their demands for autonomy in the mountainous Buddhist enclave were in line with China’s Constitution.
Beijing said at the time it would not compromise on its position that Tibet is an integral part of China, but said it would keep open the door for future discussions despite “serious divergences” between the two sides.
Gyari and Gyaltsen had flown to China on Jan. 25 for what was the ninth round of meetings since the secretive dialogue process began in 2002.
The Dalai Lama has sought “meaningful autonomy” for Tibet since he fled his homeland following a failed uprising in 1959 against Chinese rule.
China says the Dalai Lama actually wants full independence and has insisted that he must renounce “separatist” activities — which he denies supporting.
Source: Taipei Times 2010/02/02
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