By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, November 7: Tibetan government in exile (officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration) yesterday condemned the statement by Chen Quanguo, Tibet’s Communist party chief, who issued stern warning against officials who support the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
“As for cadres who harbor fantasies about the 14th Dalai Group, follow the Dalai Group, participate in supporting separatist infiltration sabotage activities, (they will be) strictly and severely punished according to the law and party disciplinary measures,” Chen was quoted as saying in a front-page article in the Tibet Daily.
“Party members, especially leading cadres, at all levels must safeguard the unity of the motherland,” Chen added.
Urging the Chinese authorities to resolve the Tibetan issue through dialogue, the Tibetan government in exile based here said that such actions will further hamper any chance of long term stability that the Chinese government is seeking in the Tibetan region.
The exile Tibetan administration reiterated that the Middle Way Approach is a mutually beneficial solution and that “Tibetans seek genuine autonomy under a single administration within the constitution of People’s Republic of China and do not seek separation.”
There have been nine rounds of talks between the Chinese side and the envoys of the Dalai Lama’s since 2002 to resolve the Tibetan issue. However, the talks entered a stalemate with China accusing the Tibetan side of seeking “disguised independence in the garb of Middle Way. China also labeled the Tibetan spiritual leader as a “splittist” and “a monk in wolf’s clothing.”
Dicki Chhoyang, Minister of Department of Information and International Relations, Tibetan government in exile said, “Clearly this latest warning to Tibetan officials who revere His Holiness the Dalai Lama demonstrates that all is not well in Tibet after all.”
Since 2009, 133 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet protesting against China’s occupation of Tibet and its hard-line policies.
