By Jon Hibbs, Political Correspondent

The Daily Telegraph - Wednesday July 17 1996

THE DALAI LAMA, exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, exempted Britain from an appeal yesterday to intensify international pressure on China to hold talks about his country's future.

On the eve of a meeting today with Malcolm Rifkind, the Foreign Secretary, the Dalai Lama acknowledged that Britain would not want to prejudice relations with Beijing before Hong Kong was handed over next year.

"The British Government's traditional concern, naturally, is that the hand-over goes very smoothly and there is not a great sacrifice of six million Hong Kong people. That is right and appropriate.

"At the moment they have to take care about good relations with China," he said on the first day of his visit.

The Dalai Lama's conciliatory comments at a Westminster news conference followed a warning from China that the decision to invite the exiled Tibetan leader to address Parliament would have an adverse effect on Sino-British relations.

"By inviting the Dalai Lama to visit Britain and offering him a forum, the Tibetan group of the House of Commons . . . abets the Dalai's action to split the mother land," said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman. "The action of the British has hurt the feelings of the Chinese people."

Later the Dalai Lama called on hundreds of MPs and peers to support "urgent intervention and action" by the international community to avert a growing threat to the survival of his people and their unique heritage.

The Dalai Lama's eighth visit to Britain is his biggest and most ambitious so far. His programme includes two days of Buddhist teachings, two public talks and a cultural rally at Alexandra Palace, north London, on Saturday. In addition to meeting Mr Rifkind, he will hold talks with Robin Cook, shadow foreign affairs spokesman.

"The destruction of cultural artefacts and traditions coupled with themass influx of Chinese into Tibet amounts to cultural genocide".

Although the Chinese foreign ministry insists its government is willing to enter negotiations, the Dalai Lama's address to a packed meeting of both Houses of Parliament expressed his mounting frustration with Beijing's refusal to respond to his invitation to hold talks without preconditions.

Calling for the non-violent struggle for human rights to be intensified, the Dalai Lama said China's leaders must be made aware that their resistance to any self-rule for Tibet would cause increasing problems domestically and internationally. "It has now become clear that our efforts alone are not sufficient to bring the Chinese government to the negotiating table. I am, therefore, left with no other choice but to appeal to the international community for urgent intervention and action on behalf of my people," he said.

The Dalai Lama said Tibet's freedom struggle was at a crucial stage, with religious repression and political persecution reaching a new peak. Condemning the "bullying tactics" of Beijing, he said the survival of his people and their unique cultural heritage was at stake from China's policy of flooding Tibet with immigrants.

"The destruction of cultural artefacts and traditions coupled with the mass influx of Chinese into Tibet amounts to cultural genocide," he said.

Earlier the Tibetan leader dismissed allegations from a break-away sect of British Buddhists that he was persecuting his own people, urging journalists to visit India to see for themselves.

The New Kadampa Tradition claim that the Dalai Lama sent security forces into refugee settlements to root out worshippers of a spirit, Dorje Shugden, he considers harmful.