No deal on Tibet status: China

BEIJING: China has rejected the Dalai Lama’s demand for greater autonomy in the Tibetan speaking areas of China, which includes four provinces  besides the Tibetan autonomous region.

This is the only aspect of the 5-day long negotiations between envoys of the Tibetan leader and officials of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee, which was revealed on Monday. There were signs that the 9th round of talks got deadlocked in almost the same manner it did during the 8th round 15 months back.

China’s official media quoted Du Qinglin, the department head, as saying that the demand for so-called ‘Greater Tibet; and ‘high-level autonomy’ amounted to violating the country’s constitution. Issues concerning China's territory and sovereignty were non-negotiable and no concessions would be made on those issues, he said.

A posting in the website of Dalai Lama’s government in exile in India said the envoys Lodi G. Gyari and Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen, who left for China on January 25, have returned. But it did not give any details about the content of the talks.

It said the envoys had presented a "Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People" at the earlier round of talks 15 months back. The “memorandum puts forth Tibetan people's aspiration for genuine autonomy” and explained how it was possible to allow self-government to Tibetans within the Chinese constitution.

The United Front department made it clear that the door for contacts and talks remained open to the Dalai Lama although there will be no concessions on issues concerning the national sovereignty.

"Tibetan people cherish peace and stability. It is no use to cheat them and act against their will. The activities of infiltration and provocation, which are doomed to fail, will only create barriers for the talks and isolate the Dalai Lama and his followers," the official statement quoted Du as saying.

Only if the Dalai Lama completely abandoned claims of greater autonomy that a foundation for further contacts and negotiations can be laid, the department said in a statement. The talks can make no progress if the Dalai Lama’s persisted on their anti-China activities and refused to show basic respect and sincerity, Du said.

The envoys of Dalai Lama were informed about the economic developments in the Tibet Autonomous Region over the past years. The official media said the envoys “expressed their opinions on relevant issues”, but did not elaborate what they were.
TN