Dalai Lama lies again, says newspaper

Source: Xinhua | 04-02-2008 09:21

BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Dalai Lama has been quite engaged in making statements recently; however, many of his words were merely lies, said a commentary carried on a leading Chinese newspaper on Tuesday.

The article referred to an open letter by the Dalai Lama on March 28. "I assure you I have no desire to seek Tibet's separation," the Dalai Lama told his "Chinese brothers and sisters" in the letter.

It was also him, ironically, that told an Indian TV channel on April 8 last year that half a century ago, Tibet was a "de-facto independent country", said the article in the overseas edition of the People's Daily.

"I have no wish to drive a wedge between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples," the Dalai Lama said in the March 28 letter. But didn't he? The commentary gave two revealing examples.

In a statement on March 10, the Dalai Lama said that in Tibet, "the non-Tibetan population has increased many times, reducing native Tibetans to an insignificant minority in their own country."

On March 25, he told the U.S.-based Newsweek that although he had met affluent Tibetans who live good lives and have good houses, they felt indescribable discrimination from the Hans, according to the commentary.

The Dalai Lama said in the open letter the Chinese government has accused him of having orchestrated the demonstrations that erupted on March 10. Was he wronged? The commentary told what went on around that time.

The Dalai Lama, on March 10, time and over again expressed his "appreciation" and "pride" in the "courage" and "resolution" of the Tibetan people in China, and arranged meetings with organizations like the Tibetan Youth Congress, the article said.

Picking up the Dalai Lama's hints, the Tibetan Youth Congress on March 10 vowed to fight for "Tibet independence" at the cost of blood and life, the commentary said.

The Dalai Lama's "appreciation" finally led to the smashing, looting, beating and arson in Lhasa and the death of innocent civilians and police on March 14, the article said.

On that day, Dalai said he would respect the Tibetans' will and not ask them to stop no matter what they did. However, as more people began to condemn the violence, he knew he had said the wrong thing, and corrected himself on March 18. He said, "If things become out of control then my only option is to resign." He then offered to pray for the victims of the "peaceful protest."

Also in the open letter, the Dalai Lama said, "I have, from the start, supported Beijing's being awarded the opportunity to host the Games. My position remains unchanged." However, he also declared on different occasions last year that the year 2008 was pivotal, and the Olympics might be the last chance for the Tibetans. He urged relevant countries to associate the "Tibet issue" with the Beijing Olympics when dealing with China, and told his backers to demonstrate during the August Olympics, according to the commentary.

The article said, "There is no need to comment; just compare what he has said: How could a person be so free with his mouth? And which words were really from his heart?"

To make up for his own self-contradiction, the Dalai Lama said in the letter that "as a a simple monk who strives to live his daily life according to Buddhist precepts," he could assure people of "the sincerity of my motivation." However, the commentary said, his assurance was just a "sincere lie."

Buddhist precepts tell its followers to be as good as their word and never lie, but the Dalai Lama never quite followed the teachings. "Is the Dalai Lama a simple monk? We can only say, he is lying again," the commentary concluded.

Editor:Zhang Ning