NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Tibetan government in exile said on Thursday it did not support the disruption of the Olympic torch relay around the world.
“The Tibet government and many people of Tibet are not trying to stop the torch. The Dalai Lama is supporting the Olympics,” Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in northern India, told reporters in New Delhi.
The Olympic flame is due to pass through New Delhi on April 17. India is considered one of the riskier places for the torch after a large number of protests by Tibetans over the past month.
A group of Tibetan youths scaled the walls of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi last month, prompting Beijing to summon the Indian envoy there to express its displeasure.
Tibetans also briefly protested on Thursday along the heavily guarded stretch of New Delhi where the torch is expected to pass.
Samdhong Rinpoche said he wished protesters would not do anything to embarrass the Indian government, but added there were groups of Tibetans who did not endorse the Dalai Lama’s support for the Olympics.
“There are people who do not agree with our stand,” he said. “In a democratic society people have a right to their opinion.”
China has called the disruptions in the torch relay disgusting, and promised harsh punishment for those involved in the unrest in Tibet.
Asked if the Olympics had helped highlight the Tibetan cause, Samdhong Rinpoche said it was just a coincidence and the “uprising” would have taken place even if the games were not happening.
He expressed concern about the fate of those detained in Tibet after the rioting last month, saying China should allow a fair trial and punishment should be in accordance with law.
“The detainees should not be killed without proper trial,” he said, adding there was a possibility of the trial being unfair and “unthinkable force” being used in Tibet in reprisal.
The Tibetan prime minister in exile said they were open to a dialogue with China, and Beijing was sending many signals through “all kinds of channels”.
“But they are mixed signals. We are not able to understand,” he said.
“As far as we are concerned we don’t put any preconditions,” he said, calling for an appropriate environment for talks. “In the present situation we don’t see that.”
(Reporting by Krittivas Mukherjee; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Jerry Norton)
