Tibetan PM for resumption of talks with China

Dharamsala -  Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay Wednesday again insisted on early resumption of dialogue with China on the Tibet issue, but he blamed Beijing for igniting self-immolation protests in the country.

"We are committed to the middle-way approach and the dialogue process to resolve the Tibet issue on the basis of mutual benefit," the elected head of the Central Tibetan Administration said here on completion of a year in office.

He said the Tibetan Task Force on negotiations had met twice in the last eight months and would meet again in December to continue the dialogue process with the new Chinese leadership.

"Prominent leaders, including the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, called on the Chinese government to continue a serious dialogue on the issue of Tibet," said Sangay, who recently returned from the United States after meeting senior Obama administration officials including Under Secretary of State Maria Otero.

The 43-year-old Sangay, who is educated at Harvard, took over the reins of the exile government from 74-year-old monk scholar Samdhong Rinpoche, who held the post for the past 10 years but was overshadowed by the Dalai Lama.

With the Dalai Lama stepping down from diplomacy and active politics, the prime minister's post has acquired added stature.

Expressing anguish over the spate of self-immolation incidents in Tibet, the prime minister asked the Tibetans to refrain from such drastic form of protest.

"We hold the repressive policies of the Chinese government solely responsible for this tragic turn of events."

A string of self-immolations took place in provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai bordering Tibet in the past year to press for return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and restoration of freedom for Tibetans inside Tibet.

As many as 46 people have reportedly killed themselves since March 2011.

Sangay, who has never set his foot in Tibet, reiterated that the Tibetan cabinet would ensure the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet, reunite the people and restore freedom in Tibet.