Dalai Lama admits failure of autonomy talks

Troubling news from India is that the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who has long campaigned for autonomy from the Chinese government, has given up hope for a peaceful settlement. "Because of lack of response from the Chinese, we have to be realistic -- there is no hope," Tenzin Taklha, an aide to the Dalai Lama, told the Reuters international news service on Sunday. The statement was somewhat of a surprise since another round of talks between Tibetan and Chinese officials was expected by the end of October. The two sides have been negotiating since China expressed fears that pro-autonomy protesters would try to disrupt last summer's Beijing Olympics. But the Chinese government also accused the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising, of treason after rioting broke out in Tibet in March. The Dalai Lama has called for a special meeting of Tibetan exiles in November to discuss the future of the Tibetan movement. "His holiness does not want to become a hindrance to the Tibetan issue, and therefore has sent a letter to the parliament regarding what options he has," Taklha told Reuters. The Dalai Lama advocated a conciliatory approach to negotiations with the Chinese, a philosophy opposed by many exiled Tibetans and by the young, Reuters said. "We are not against the middle way approach of his Holiness; the fact is that China is not sincere and has never been sincere in talking about the middle way," said Tsewang Rigzin, president of the pro-independence Tibetan Youth Congress.