Tibet Today brings Tibet closer to you

Dalai Lama Shows Support for Olympics

By MARTIN FACKLER

Published: April 11, 2008

TOKYO — The Dalai Lama said Thursday that he supported Beijing’s hosting of the Summer Olympics, but insisted pro-Tibet demonstrators against the torch relay had the right to voice their opinions so long as they refrained from violence.

During a brief stopover in Japan on his way to the United States, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told reporters no one should try to silence demonstrators who are protesting against Chinese rule in Tibet. But at the same time, he struck a conciliatory tone toward Beijing, apparently distancing himself from calls in the West for a boycott of the Olympic opening ceremony.

“We are not anti-Chinese,” he said in a press conference at Tokyo’s international airport in Narita. “Right from the beginning, we supported the Olympic Games.” Speaking of pro-Tibetan protesters, he said nobody “has the right to tell them to shut up.”

He faulted Beijing for suppressing anti-government unrest in Tibet last month, saying its use of violence was “an outdated method” that did not solve the underlying problems. That unrest, the largest in the region in two decades, and the resulting Chinese crackdown have brought sympathy protests around the world where demonstrators have demanded greater freedom in Tibet.

The demonstrations disrupted the journey of the Olympic torch, including its stops in London, Paris and most recently in San Francisco. The protests have been deeply embarrassing to Beijing, which had hoped to use the Olympics to burnish its image and showcase China’s emergence onto the world stage.

In a separate statement on Thursday, the Tibetan government in exile, based in India, said it did not support the disruption of the Olympic torch relay. Beijing has blamed the Dalai Lama for masterminding the recent unrest in Tibet.

On Thursday, the Dalai Lama said he was not behind the disturbances, calling the Chinese claims “a serious allegation.”

“I really feel very sad the government demonizes me,” he said. “I am just a human. I am not a demon.”

He said the root of the problem was China’s heavy-handed rule of Tibet, which he fled in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

“Autonomy is just in name,” he said, referring to China’s position that it gives Tibetans a large measure of self-rule, “it is not sincerely implemented.”