Dalai Lama Predicts China Change In Several Years

LOS ANGELES, Tuesday October 12 (Reuters) - Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said late Monday he saw China softening its grip on the Himalayan region in a few years.

The Dalai Lama, 64, made the remarks after handing out Tibet Light of Truth Awards to the former First Lady of France, Danielle Mitterrand, the husband of California Senator Dianne Fienstein, and a former British envoy to Tibet for their work in promoting understanding of his people.

Speaking to an audience of about 1,000 crowded in a Jewish center in Los Angeles, the Dalai Lama said the situation in Tibet, occupied by Chinese troops since 1950, was ''treacherous.''

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his peaceful struggle for more Tibetan autonomy, but is vilified by Beijing as a traitor who foments violence and rebellion.

The bespectacled monk, clad in crimson and saffron robes and speaking in broken English, said Beijing's strategy of dominating Tibet through the ``decisive'' power of the gun was doomed to fail.

``Sooner or later, the wise Chinese leaders, eventually, I think, will recognize that the current situation is actually counterproductive, that current policies are counterproductive,'' he said.

``It may take, I think, a few more years, but I think that sooner or later things definitely will change,'' he said. ``The power of justice may appear weak, but that power always wins, justice always wins.''

China maintains a force of several hundred thousand troops in the devoutly Buddhist region, which is home to about 2.5 million Tibetans.

Beijing insists its policies have raised the standard of living in a desperately poor and backward region, but critics say the government is bent on eradicating Tibet's culture and its unique form of Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama warned Beijing its heavy-handed tactics would only kindle further bitterness among Tibetans.

``Stability and unity under the gun is very, very superficial. If you use the method of suppression, the more the resentment will increase,'' he said.

After being presented with a silvery goblet and white silk scarf by the Dalai Lama, Mitterrand urged governments and citizens to speak out on behalf of Tibetans and other oppressed peoples, saying: ``Silence kills.''

Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum, founder of the American Himalayan Foundation that gives aids to Tibetans, pledged the couple would continue to press Beijing to treat Tibet with a lighter touch.

``We haven't made a lot of progress, as you know, but we have promised never, ever to give up. And we will keep knocking on that Great Wall for as long as it takes,'' Blum said.

Hugh Richardson, Britain's envoy to Tibet from 1936 to 1947, was also honored at the ceremony but did not attend.

Former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale, civil rights activist Jesse Jackson and actress Sharon Stone also attended the ceremony.