HOPES AND DANGERS OF NEW TIBET-CHINA DIALOGUE: A FRIENDLY WARNING
By Vijay Kranti
Repeated claims by the senior most Tibetan exile leadership about ‘back channel’ talks being in progress with Beijing are an indication of a new round of Dharamshala-Beijing dialogue taking shape to settle the seven decade old conflict between the two sides. In his recent media statements Penpa Tsering, the ‘Sikyong’ (Tibetan title for the elected ‘President’ of the exiled Tibetan diaspora) has revealed that some behind the scene talks are being held with the Chinese leaders with the help of a third country. It’s understandable that the Sikyong refused to divulge either the name of the ‘third country’ or the identity of officials involved from either side. But his claim that these talks started with the initiative of the Chinese side deserves serious attention and calls for a deep clinical scrutiny of what prompted President Xi Jinping to restart these negotiations after having rejected every single point on which the Dalai Lama side has been resting its case for settlement of the Tibetan issue with Beijing.
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