Obama Appeases Beijing, Says Tibet Is China’s Part
US President Barack Obama has described Tibet as part of China and backed the early resumption of talks between Beijing and representatives of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama.
“We did note that while we recognise that Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China, the United States supports the early resumption of dialogue between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Beijing,” Obama said following his meeting with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing.
China, which has been ruling Tibet ever since its troops occupied the territory in the 1950s, has persistently accused the Dalai Lama of running a campaign to split the Himalayan region from the rest of the country.
On the contry, the Dalai Lama, who took refuge in India after a failed upheaval against Chinese rule 1959, has always denied the allegations.
The last talks held formally between the Dalai Lama’s envoys and Chinese officials on the issue, the seventh since 2002, ended in a stand-off last July, with China insisting that he prove that he did not back Tibetan independence.
The relations between Beijing and the Dalai Lama have been particularly tense following large scale riots in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, in which several shops were burnt and Chinese civilians were assaulted.
On his maiden state visit to the Communist country, Obama warned Iran that it would face ‘consequences’ if it failed to show greater openness on its nuclear programme.
“Iran has an opportunity to present and demonstrate its peaceful intentions but if it fails to take this opportunity, there will be consequences,” he said.
The US President said that he and Hu want climate change talks in Copenhagen next month to result in a global deal that has “immediate operational effect.”
“We agreed to work toward a successful outcome in Copenhagen,” Obama told reporters.
“Our aim there is… not a partial accord or a political declaration, but rather an accord that covers all the issues in the negotiations and one that has immediate operational effect,” he said.
On North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, Obama said that the six-party talks process should resume ‘as soon as possible’.
“We agreed on resuming the six-party talks process as soon as possible,” Obama said.
On his part, Hu said that both sides were committed to dialogue and consultation in resolving the Korean peninsula nuclear issue.
Hu said that the two countries would continue to have consultations on an equal footing to properly resolve economic and trade frictions.
