Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has accused China of having brought ‘hell on earth’ to his homeland in a speech on the sensitive 50th anniversary of a failed uprising.
As Chinese authorities deployed a massive security ring across the Tibetan plateau to prevent protests, he demanded 'meaningful autonomy’ for the region in a speech at his exile base in northern India.
Residents of Tibet's capital, Lhasa, reported no protests but, as in other Tibetan areas of China, it appeared to be partly because armed soldiers and police were patrolling the streets in a show of force.
In harsh words, the Dalai Lama said China had brought untold suffering and destruction to the Himalayan region in a wave of repressive campaigns since the uprising on 10 March 1959 that forced him to flee.
‘These thrust Tibetans into such depths of suffering and hardship that they literally experienced hell on earth,’ he added, saying they caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of his people.
The 73-year-old Dalai Lama retains enormous support among the roughly 6m devoutly Buddhist Tibetans who live in China, despite Chinese efforts to demonise him.
Chinese authorities say he wants independence for his homeland. He denies this, reiterating that he wants greater autonomy but within China, and an end to repression.
Peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks in Lhasa on last year's anniversary erupted four days later into anti-Chinese rioting that swept into other parts of western China with Tibetan populations.
China has ruled Tibet since 1951 after sending in troops to ‘liberate’ the region the previous year.
In Washington, meanwhile, hundreds of Tibetan exiles gathered outside the White House and bowed their heads for a two-minute silence at 4pm yesterday, midnight in the Himalayan region.
The protestors marched to the Chinese embassy and were joined by dissident Wei Jingsheng, who has questioned Beijing's historical claims to the region.
