Tibet's exiled leader the Dalai Lama said in New Delhi that his death would be a great setback for Tibetans freedom struggle and asserted that in that event his reincarnation would logically come from outside Tibet.
In an interview to Asia Week Magazine to be published in its latest issue, the Dalai Lama said that his death would certainly have a strong impact on the Tibetan people both inside and outside his homeland.
It will certainly be a great setback...but our struggle is for the six million Tibetans, their rights, their welfare, their future. This is a struggle of a nation to survive. Whether one particular leader remains or not, the nation will carry on the struggle, he said.
Asked if china would use its Panchen Lama to recognise the future Dalai Lama, the 65-year old Tibetan replied in affirmative.
“China will choose a boy as the next Dalai Lama, though in reality he is not. As with the Panchen Lama, the Tibetans won't recognize him,” a release by the magazine quoted him saying.
He said that for more than 10 years the Chinese have taken position on the reincarnation of prominent Lamas inside Tibet and not outside the country. That means they don't want the recognition from Dalai Lama.
Asked if he saw a breakthrough with China in the near future, he said that the possibility is there... “China has become part of the world, so the international climate will have an impact on it... sooner or later, China will become a more open society. More freedom must come.”
Bureau Report
