Dalai Lama would resign if Tibet violence worsens

The Dalai Lama said yesterday he would resign as leader of Tibet's exiled government if violence in his homeland spreads out of control.

"If violence becomes out of control then my only option is to resign," the spiritual leader said at a news conference. "If the majority of people commit violence, then I resign."

The Chinese government has accused the Dalai Lama of orchestrating last month's riots in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and unrest that followed in other ethnic Tibetan areas, as part of a bid for independence and to ruin the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing.

The Dalai Lama reiterated comments that he was not pushing for a separate state, and said "violence is totally wrong."

The statement came the day after Beijing announced the arrest of nine Buddhist monks for bombing a government building in Tibet.

A Tibetan source with strong contacts in its capital, Lhasa, said the city was also swirling with rumours of fresh clashes between monks and security forces at the important Drepung monastery. No one at the monastery or the local police station could be reached for comment.

China has gone on the offensive in the face of mounting international criticism of its handling of violent riots in Tibet and a subsequent crackdown, which is clouding the run-up to the Olympic Games in August.

It considers a growing number of boycott threats, and the chaotic protests that marred a global torch relay, as an unfair mix of sports and politics ahead of an event officials hoped would celebrate three decades of economic reforms and opening.

Meanwhile, in editorials yesterday the Chinese media denounced the Dalai Lama and his supporters as "anti-human rights" and slammed top US politician Nancy Pelosi as "the least popular person in China" for her stance on Tibet. Beijing has blamed the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, for orchestrating the March 14 riots in Lhasa and unrest that followed in other ethnic Tibetan areas, as part of a bid for independence and to ruin the Olympic Games.

The Dalai Lama says he is not pushing for a separate state and denies he was behind the unrest. On Saturday a rock-star size crowd of tens of thousands of people packed a Seattle stadium to hear him call for non-violence.

He said on Friday that he did not support a boycott of the Beijing Olympics, but the broadside from the official Xinhua agency denounced him as a sham.

It cited an effort by Tibetan protesters to wrench the torch from a wheelchair-bound athlete as a violation of human rights, and said the Dalai Lama dreamed of bringing back the Tibetan feudal system of serf ownership.

"It is indeed the anti-human rights nature of the Dalai clique that impels the "pro-Tibet independence" separatists to undermine China's stability and unity, disgrace China worldwide, and even sabotage the Olympic torch relay by all sorts of violent means," the English-language commentary said.

The reference to international shame suggested that despite a wave of nationalistic fervour among many of its own non-Tibetan citizens Beijing may be concerned about its global image.

Xinhua also targeted Ms Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, after she backed a resolution urging dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the end of a crackdown on nonviolent protesters and a halt to repression in the region.

The People's Daily accused the California Democrat of cynical double standards and said she would likely top any Chinese poll to find "the most disgusting figure".

"Pelosi would remain the least popular person for China if she stiff-neckedly clings to her double standards and an anti-China stance," the commentary said.