Tibetan govt hails US statement urging China to talk with Dalai Lama
[TNN] DHARAMSHALA, Jan 11: Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) which concluded its 27th Task Force meeting on negotiation here this week, has hailed the stand of the US of urging the Chinese leadership to engage in direct and substantive discussion with the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama without any preconditions. Tibetan PM-in-exile Lobsang Sangay, who chaired the meeting, reiterated his administration’s commitment to resolving the issue of Tibet through dialogue with the Chinese leadership.
The department of information and international relations (DIIR) quoted US state department spokesperson Jen Psaki as saying: ‘I can convey that we’ve long encouraged the Chinese Government to hold direct and substantive discussions with the Dalai Lama or his representatives without preconditions aimed at resolving differences. We believe that all people in the PRC would benefit from the fruits of dialogue and urge the Chinese government to seize the opportunity to further engage with the Dalai Lama.”
Two-day meeting of task force, held discussions on the political developments in China, issues relating to the future of dialogue with the Chinese leadership and on developments in the international political landscape.
Last round of talks between the envoys of the Dalai Lama and representatives from the China’s united front work department took place five years ago in January, 2010. Since then, China has refused to meet with the Tibetan representatives.
In May 2012, the two envoys of the Dalai Lama, who had led nine rounds of talks with China since 2002, resigned citing the deteriorating situation inside Tibet and their “utter frustration” over the lack of positive response from China.
