August 14. By John Gittings of The Guardian, London: The Dalai Lama has warned China that Tibetans may turn to armed struggle if their oppression continues to worsen. In what he called a cry of desperation, he said his own mderate approach to Beijing had failed and that eventually he might have to resign. Negotiations with Beijing had been broken off for more than a year, the Dalai Lama told a press conference yesterday (13 Aug.) in London, while "Chinese suppression is increasing and more Chinese arriving (in Tibet) day by day." As a result, he was being criticised by supporters within the country for being too "soft." They also complain that recent US concessions to China have encouraged Beijing to crack down even harder. Yesterday's (13 Aug.) statement by the Dalai Lama follows increasing signs of disillusion. The extent to which he was prepared to compromise with Beijing was not widely appreciated. Beijing took advantage of this to claim that the "Dalai clique" still insisted on complete independence. Th

e Dalai Lama said that many older people in Tibet were urging him to return, whatever conditions might be imposed by Beijing. But younger Tibetans had advised him not to fall into Chinese hands but to remain outside China, and "speak on behalf of the Tibetan people." The Dalai Lama had proposed a short visit to Lhasa in '91, but China insisted that he must first acknowledge that Tibet has always been part of China. (EuroTibet News N·2)