Dalai Lama's appeal for Tibet

BBC NEWS February 18th 2000

Elaborate ceremonies were held for the anniversary

The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has marked the 60th

anniversary of his enthronement by calling for greater efforts to end

Chinese rule over Tibet.

Speaking to several thousand supporters in the Indian hill town of

Dharamsala, he said: "Today is a good day to renew and reinforce your

dedication to the Tibetan freedom struggle."

"The most important thing today is to save Tibetan Buddhism and culture.

The younger generation has to take more responsibility ... and work for

the Tibetan issue in a non-violent way."

He said the issue between China and the Tibetans was not about one side

winning and the other losing - but both being able to see it as a

victory.

Elaborate ceremonies were held to mark the enthronement.

Sitting on a carved throne in front of a gilded statue of Buddha in a

room plastered with religious scrolls, the Dalai Lama received senior

monks.

He was then presented with sacred relics - including a knotted garland

of gold, holy banners, the eyes of a fish crafted in gold and silver

vessels.

Karmapa's escape

The celebrations brought together the heads of all the schools of

Tibetan Buddhism, including the 14-year-old Karmapa Lama who escaped

from Tibet last December.

In his address, the Dalai Lama said he was very glad the Karmapa Lama

had managed to get out of Tibet.

"He is safe here. He is very young right now," he said.

The gathering in Dharamsala - the seat of the Tibetan

government-in-exile - was said by officials to be unprecedented in the

recent history of Tibetan Buddhism.

Figurehead

Since China invaded Tibet in 1950, Beijing has sought to control all

religious activities there, and banned all references to the Dalai Lama.

Human rights groups have accused China of the systematic destruction of

Tibetan Buddhist culture and persecution of monks loyal to the Dalai

Lama.

Born Tenzin Gyatso in north-eastern Tibet on 6 July, 1935, he was

recognised at the age of two as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama

and brought up in the Potala Palace in the capital, Lhasa.

In 1950, the15-year-old assumed full responsibility as the head of the

Tibetan state - the same year that 80,000 Chinese troops poured into the

mountain kingdom.

After a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, the Dalai Lama

fled across the border to India. Tens of thousands of his people

followed.

The Dalai Lama first travelled overseas in1973 on a landmark visit to

Europe - the first by a Tibetan spiritual leader.

In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, which he accepted "on behalf of

the oppressed everywhere."

China has repeatedly insisted that the Dalai Lama wants an independent

Tibet, whereas he says the country should be self-governing in

association with China.