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BEIJING: China on Monday attacked a proposed new US
Congressional
resolution on the Tibet crisis as one-sided, and urged American
lawmakers to stop interfering in the issue.
A Chinese foreign ministry
statement said a resolution tabled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
last week ignored “criminal acts” that it said were orchestrated
by the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama.
“We advise the US Congress to
respect facts, discard one-sidedness [and] clearly see the real face
of the Dalai Lama clique,” said the statement posted on the
ministry website.
The US Congress should “stop
pushing forward resolutions dealing with Tibet that hurt the
feelings of the Chinese people and harm Sino-US ties,” it added.
Last Thursday, Pelosi tabled a
resolution calling on Beijing to end its crackdown on peaceful
protests in Tibet and begin a dialogue with the Dalai Lama to
address the grievances of the Tibetan people.
Beijing has blamed the Dalai
Lama, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner, for widespread unrest in
Tibet that China says has killed 20 people, mainly in riots last
month in the regional capital of Lhasa.
Exiled Tibetan leaders, however,
say at least 150 people have died in the Chinese crackdown on the
demonstrations, which spread to Tibetan- populated regions around
China.
“A small number of US congressmen
have raised this resolution and have refused to condemn the
smashing, looting and burning riots in Lhasa,” the ministry
statement said.
“They also do not condemn the
behind-the-scenes organization of these violent criminal acts by the
Dalai Lama clique.”
China would hold talks with the
Dalai Lama only after he ended his activities aimed at Tibetan
independence and “stops the current incitement of violent
crimes and disturbing Beijing Olympic activities,” the statement
said.
The Dalai Lama has denied seeking
independence or playing any role in the recent unrest that began May
10, the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule
in Tibet.
Subsequent Congressional
resolutions have included one that would bar US President George W.
Bush from attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in
August.
--AFP
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