Tibetan exiles end meeting, want tougher stance with China (Roundup)

New Delhi - Tibetan exiles ended a meeting in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala on Saturday, agreeing that a tougher stand should be taken in negotiations with China, officials and delegates attending the meeting said. A little over 600 Tibetan exiles attended the six-day meeting in Dharamsala, which saw intense discussions on whether there should be a shift of policy to advocate independence. Many representatives of the younger generation advocate such a move. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, had called for the special meeting after admitting in October that his 'middle way'' policy of securing greater autonomy for Tibetans within China had failed. The Dalai Lama's representatives have held eight rounds of talks with the Chinese government on autonomy since 2002 but reported little progress. But there were many opposed to dropping the middle way. They said that the move could result in a loss of international support. 'We will continue with the middle way approach. If there is no progress within a short period we will consider other options, including independence,' Karma Choephel, speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, was quoted as saying in his address to the concluding session. A final resolution of the meeting is likely to set out the conditions for future talks with China, the IANS news agency reported, quoting sources in the government-in-exile. Those conditions include: having an independent observer at negotiations; the release of Tibetan political prisoners; and issuance of a joint statement after each negotiation round. The resolution is also likely to suggest more intense lobbying with the United Nations and other world bodies and better organization of the Tibetan community worldwide to counter Chinese propaganda, IANS reported. Delegates apparently suggested that more efforts should be made to reach out to Chinese people to counter alleged misinformation spread by Chinese authorities. The special meeting, after an introductory session on Monday, divided into sub-committees for a week of discussions. All 15 subcommittees had submitted their recommendations, which were to be made public Sunday, Choephel said. The Dalai Lama, who stayed away from the meeting, saying he did not want to influence discussions, is expected to brief the media on Sunday. But one of his aides said the briefing would largely relate to administrative matters. 'Everyone was determined to continue with the freedom struggle - though in different ways,' said Youdon Aukatsang, a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile. She said most delegates wanted a stronger stance toward China if the dialogue progressed. One demand would be deadlines. 'They discussed everything under the sun and it was acknowledged that the middle way should be pursued for now, though some did clamour for independence,' an aide to the Dalai Lama said. 'In they end they all united behind the Dalai Lama and said they had full faith in him and it was not his fault that talks had failed so far. They reposed their trust in him so that he could decide how to move forward,' the aide said. The issue of a successor to the Dalai Lama was also reportedly discussed in the sub-committees. The 73-year-old monk suffered a bout of ill health and underwent surgery earlier in 2008. 'The meeting was a democratic exercise. It indicates a transition. the voices of all sections were heard,' Tenzin Choeding, a youth leader said. Younger Tibetans had earlier expressed frustration in having to tone down their protests in the days leading up to the Beijing Olympics. Many of them were invited to attend the special meeting. 'A lot of young Tibetans, specially from the west, were pleasantly surprised by the way their views were listened to. Everyone was equal in the discussions,' the Dalai Lama's aide said. The northern Indian hill town of Dharamsala is the headquarters of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India with his followers in 1959, and the Tibetan government-in-exile. The government is not recognized by any nation. There are more than 100,000 Tibetans living in exile, mostly in India and Nepal, while 6 million live in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and adjoining areas of China.