The Dalai Lama, seen by Beijing as a symbol of Tibetan separatism, said on Thursday he and his followers were ready to accept that the region remains a part of China. "I once again want to reassure the Chinese authorities that as long as I am responsible for the affairs of Tibet we remain fully committed to the Middle Way Approach of not seeking independence for Tibet and are willing to remain within the People's Republic of China," the Tibetan spiritual leader said.
The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, made the comments in an annual statement on the 46th anniversary of the revolt.
The Nobel laureate, who has headed a Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala in the Indian hill state of Himachal Pradesh, has maintained that he only wants greater autonomy for the Tibetan people.
Analysts said his comments underlined a further softening towards China and were a fresh overture to help Beijing address the issue of Tibet.
"The Dalai Lama wants to give China a respectable way out of the Tibet problem where China has landed itself as a colonial master," said Vijay Kranti, a New Delhi-based expert on Tibetan affairs.
"But Chinese leaders failed to understand such overtures in the past. I doubt if they will respond positively now."
The exiled leader, who has said China's image has been tarnished by its human rights record in Tibet, called for more understanding of Chinese concerns over the region.
"Now that our elected (exiled) political leadership is shouldering more responsibility in Tibetan affairs, I have advised them to look into the issues raised by the Chinese side...and to take steps to address or clarify them as needed."
In September last year, Lodi Gyari, a top envoy of the Dalai Lama, met Chinese officials in Beijing and said both sides had serious and extensive talks.
Direct contact between exiled Tibetans and Beijing was not established for 20 years after the failed revolt and dialogue was suspended in 1993.
Two years ago talks were quietly revived and both sides have been trying to untangle the Tibetan knot of which allowing the Dalai Lama to return under certain conditions is seen as key.
Separately in Nepal, more than 100 Tibetan monks and students gathered on Thursday at a Buddhist monastery in Kathmandu to mark their national uprising.
"We have to organise the meeting inside the monastery because we are not allowed to organise it in public places as we used to do before," said Wangchuck Tsering, who participated in an hour-long prayer.
There are more than 20,000 Tibetans in Nepal, which neighbours the Chinese-ruled region. They are allowed to live in the kingdom but political activity against Beijing is banned.
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