- NEW DELHI, India (AP) _ The Dalai Lama is advising Tibetans in China to
give in to Beijing's pressure to denounce him rather than suffer punishment
for their devotion. The spiritual leader's spokesman in the northern Indian
city of Dharmsala said today the Dalai Lama had given that advice to more
than 1,000 Tibetan refugees he met with in three groups over the last three
months, most recently on Saturday. According to the text of his statement
to the refugees, the Dalai Lama told Tibetans that any sensible person
would know that their denunciations of him were made under duress. ``Except
for a few ignorant fools, who would ever believe the false statements and
propaganda by China?'' he said. To stamp out support for the Dalai Lama,
Chinese authorities have subjected monasteries to ``patriotic education''
campaigns in which monks have been forced to denounce the Tibetan leader
as a separatist. The Dalai Lama said he is often ``saddened and troubled''
by reports of Tibetans being subjected to detention, beatings and imprisonment
after having been found in possession of his pictures. Many Tibetans remain
loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising
against Chinese rule. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of Tibetans
have joined the Nobel Peace Prize winner in India.
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