Dalai Lama's envoys to leave for China for talks on Tibet

Dalai Lama New Delhi  - The envoys of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama will travel to China to hold talks with the government over the crisis in Tibet, the Tibetan administration said Friday.

Special Envoy Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen will arrive in China on Saturday for informal talks with representatives of the Chinese government, the administration said in a statement on its web-site.

"During this brief visit, the envoys will take up the urgent issue of the current crisis in the Tibetan areas," said Chimme R Chhoekyapa, secretary to Dalai Lama, who is based in India's northern hill town of Dharamsala.

"They will convey His Holiness the Dalai Lama's deep concerns about the Chinese authorities' handling of the situation and also provide suggestions to bring peace to the region," he added.

The talks will take place seven weeks after the unrest in Tibet and other Tibetan inhabited regions in neighbouring provinces.

The violence left 19 people dead, according to the Chinese government. However, the Tibetan government-in-exile said 203 people have been killed, most of them Tibetans shot by Chinese police.

The Chinese government has accused the Dalai Lama of "plotting and inciting violence" and "disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games" the March unrest in Tibet, which triggered a sharp military crackdown by Chinese authorities.

Last Friday, China announced that it would take up a dialogue with representatives of Tibet's spiritual leader and said it was ready to talk about everything except sovereignty over Tibet.

But even after Beijing said it was reopening talks, the Chinese state media has continued to attack Dalai Lama saying he was the "master of rhetoric" and his attempt to "split the motherland" - Tibet from China - was "doomed to failure."

Since 2002 the Chinese government has engaged in six rounds of dialogue with representatives of the Dalai Lama, however no progress was reported. The last round was held in June 2007. (dpa)

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