REUTERS: BEIJING - Beijing lambasted the Dalai Lama as a criminal on Saturday as representatives of the exiled Buddhist leader headed for a meeting in southern China on the most serious unrest in Tibet for nearly two decades.
The barrage of criticism suggested the government was in no mood to compromise following riots and protests in Tibet, which have shaken China's preparations for the Beijing Olympics and stoked Western criticism of its rule in the mountain region.
"Patriotic people of Tibet strongly condemn and vehemently denounce the litany of crimes committed by the 14th Dalai Lama and his followers," said the official Tibet Daily, according to the region's official news Website (www.chinatibetnews.com).
"They (the aides) should have reached China ... we can't have great expectations (about the talks)," Chhime Chhoekyapa, a senior aide to the Dalai Lama, told Reuters in Dharamsala. China Condemns Dalai Lama Ahead of Planned Talks >>> | May 3, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)
