By Yu Jun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-31 07:13

Describing the recent Lhasa violence as "peaceful demonstration", the Dalai Lama once again lied to the whole world, lies that were soon repeated in full by the websites of the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

These remarks once again demonstrated the dishonesty of the Dalai Lama.

According to the Dalai Lama, the serious violence that first broke out in Lhasa, the capital of China's Tibet autonomous region, and then spread to some neighboring provinces, was nothing more than "peaceful protests and demonstrations".

But what the Dalai Lama regards as "peaceful" resulted in the deaths of 18 innocent civilians, injuries suffered by many more and huge economic losses.

This is not because it is difficult to tell the difference between riots and peaceful demonstrations. The reason is the Dalai Lama has once again cheated the world in his attempt to extricate himself from the Lhasa violence.

Faced with these cast-iron facts, can he shrug off his connection to the riots?

The beating, smashing, looting and burning in Lhasa was launched by some obviously organized monks who attacked civilians and police with stones held in rucksacks. The violence then escalated, with rioters burning the Chinese national flag, waving the flag of the so-called "Tibetan government-in-exile", brandishing the image of the Dalai Lama and crying for so-called "Tibet independence".

One wonders whether such activities really had nothing to do with the Dalai Lama.

Has the Dalai Lama, who portrays himself as peace-loving, ever uttered any criticism of the recent Lhasa violence?

The Dalai Lama claims he no longer supports "Tibet independence". However, the fact is that he has not expressed any objection to the Lhasa violence in which some rioters hysterically cried for "Tibet independence", smashed Chinese embassies in some foreign countries, pulled down the Chinese national flag and displayed the flag of the so-called "Tibetan government-in-exile".

In his remarks, the Dalai Lama quoted some words of the 10th Panchen Lama. It is true that the Panchen Lama criticized the country's "cultural revolution" (1966-76). But the "cultural revolution" was not targeted at Tibet; the whole of China was affected. Is it right that the Dalai Lama equated the Panchen Lama's critique of the "cultural revolution" with his critique of the Chinese central government's Tibet policies from the 1950s until today?

Is the Dalai Lama not clear about who caused the violence in Lhasa while he calls for the ending of "violence" by the Chinese government?

It is not the Chinese government but rioters that caused the death of innocent civilians and enormous economic losses.

From the beginning, the police, despite suffering huge casualties, displayed the utmost restraint while trying to stop the violence and restore order.

Despite the lies being peddled by the Dalai Lama and his backers, the world knows about the true nature of these "peaceful demonstrations" and the suffering they caused.

The Dalai Lama's attempt to argue black was white proves he is nothing more than a charlatan.

(China Daily 03/31/2008 page4)