WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Confidence-building talks between Tibetans and China have done little to ease a “very repressive” atmosphere in Chinese-ruled Tibet, the Dalai Lama said on Tuesday.
The 70-year-old Buddhist spiritual leader and head of an India-based Tibetan government-in-exile is visiting Washington for a conference on science and meditation. He is slated to meet President George W. Bush on Wednesday.
Private envoys of the Dalai Lama have had four meetings with Chinese authorities in the past three years, he told reporters. He said the meetings marked “some progress” in a conflict that dates back to China’s 1950 invasion of the remote Himalayan region.
“Up to now our main emphasis is (to) try to build confidence” that would enable discussions of more serious issues, he said.
“From our side we made every effort to create a positive atmosphere,” said the Dalai Lama. However, he added, the Chinese government showed “no sign of improvement or some leniency inside Tibet.”
“Still things are very, very repressive,” said the Nobel Peace Prize winner and prolific author of spiritual books.
The Buddhist spiritual leader fled to India after a failed uprising by Tibetans in 1959, nine years after China’s People’s Liberation Army marched into Tibet to establish communist rule.
He has renounced the goal of an independent Tibet and says he only wants more autonomy. China accuses the Dalai Lama with continuing to spark separatist efforts for the 2.7 million Tibetans and refuses to allow him back inside its borders.
In September 2004, private envoys of the Dalai Lama visited China as part of a delicate and slow-moving process to pave the way for dialogue on the future of Tibet.
Bush and First Lady Laura will host the Dalai Lama at the White House residence on Wednesday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
The U.S. president’s first meeting with Dalai Lama since 2003 comes 10 days before Bush will make an official visit to China and hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
