AFP Photo.Tibetan spiritual leader The Dalai Lama:
"The cultural rights and freedoms must apply to all Tibetans --
as it is stated in the constitution."
DHARAMSALA, India (Der Spiegel), May 12, 2008:
Tenzin Gyatso, 72, the 14th Dalai Lama, leader of the Tibetan people, discussed the uprising in his native Tibet, why he doesn't support protests against the Olympic torch relay and his proposals for a compromise with Beijing in an interview conducted here by Erich Follath and Padma Rao at the exile headquarters of the Dalai Lama.
Read the interview
Dalai Lama: The Chinese must finally admit that there is a Tibet problem. This is supposed to be the focus of the next talks to which we just agreed. Unlike earlier unrests, this time they not only affected Lhasa, and not just the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region. The protests encompassed all Tibetan-speaking parts of China. Even Tibetan students at Beijing University were demonstrating. This overwhelming and complete rebuff of the Communist Party government and its policies can't just be ignored. Beijing must know that something has gone terribly wrong in the last 50 years.© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2008
