Tibetans urge Dalai Lama not to step down from politics

Mar 15, 2011, 10:25 GMT

New Delhi - The Tibetan parliament-in-exile Tuesday debated the Dalai Lama's plea to retire as a political leader, with a majority of members urging him to reconsider the move, officials said.

The 75-year-old Nobel laureate announced last week that he wanted to hand over his role as the political head of the exiled government to the prime minister.

On the opening day of the Tibetan parliament Monday, he proposed a constitutional amendment to allow the handover, which lawmakers started discussing Tuesday in Dharamsala, the northern Indian town where the exiled government is based.

'An overwhelming majority of the 35 parliamentarians who spoke were of the view that the issue of Tibet and His Holiness cannot be separated,' parliament speaker Penpa Tsering said. 'It is a centuries-old relationship.'

The Tibetan parliament has 43 members. Tsering said the issue would be taken up again during the 11-day parliament session since budget-related issues would be discussed on Wednesday.

Tibetan officials have said the parliament could consider a referendum or organizing a special session on the matter.

Tibetan Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche said the cabinet backed the proposal in principle, but most Tibetans wanted him to stay on as their leader, and the parliament felt an obligation to respect their electorate's wishes.

The Dalai Lama on Monday said Tibetans needed to plan ahead.

'If we have to remain in exile for several more decades, a time will inevitably come when I will no longer be able to provide leadership,' he said. It was best to prepare for such an eventuality, rather than deal with the 'uncertainty' when it happened, he said.

Tibetan officials said the Dalai Lama's renunciation of political authority would leave the prime minister in charge of key decisions including final budget papers, dissolving parliament and negotiations with China.

Political experts said a change was bound to affect the Tibetan movement, with many young Tibetan leaders inclined to push for independence for Tibet from China.

In contrast, the Dalai Lama's 'Middle Way' policy renounces independence in favour of 'meaningful autonomy' for the 6 million Tibetans within China's borders.

The Dalai Lama set up the Tibetan government in exile after he fled his homeland following a failed uprising against China's rule in 1959. The exiled government is not recognized by any country, including India.

More than 100,000 of the total of 140,000 Tibetan exiles live in India.

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