Published by: World Tibet Network News, Tuesday, October 29, 1996

by Philippe Massonnet

PARIS, Oct 28 (AFP) - Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attacked China on Monday as he arrived for a three-day visit to Paris, saying Beijing misrepresented his cause.

"The Chinese government does not want to talk to me," he told AFP in an interview, after arriving for the visit during which he will address deputies in the French National Assembly.

"The Chinese government has chosen a hard line. They say Tibetan movements abroad are manipulated by the West. That is false. They say I want independence for Tibet. That is false," said the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

The Dalai Lama, on his sixth visit to France, is due to hold talks Wednesday in France's National Assembly with a parliamentary group on Tibet and opposition leaders. On Tuesday he is due to meet Buddhists living in France.

Arriving Monday evening he took issue in particular with a Beijing comments last week accusing him of still seeking Tibet's independence.

"I want to talk about Tibet's autonomy," he said, repeating that he is calling for autonomy rather than separation. "I am seeking a middle path. We have to find a fair solution acceptable to both peoples," he said.

"We have to live side by side," he added, welcoming what he said was a "growing" number of Chinese who supported Tibet's plight.

The Dalai Lama's visit to Paris, which follows a stopover in Strasbourg last week and a visit to Germany, comes at a delicate time for Paris as it seeks to build bridges with Beijing.

With French President Jacques Chirac preparing his first official visit to China in May, Paris is unwilling to risk Beijing's anger by welcoming the Dalai Lama with open arms.

The Tibetan leader has not been invited to the Elysee presidential palace or Prime Minister Alain Juppe's office during the visit.

Asked about this Monday, after arriving at Le Bourget airport north of Paris, the Dalai Lama said simply: "I would be very happy to meet them, but if it causes problems for them, I do not want to complicate matters."

The French foreign ministry has taken pains to describe the trip as "pastoral," calling instead for "constructive dialogue" between China and Tibet over human rights and the vexed question of Tibet's status.

Chinese premier Li Peng said in an interview with AFP in Beijing on Monday that he had high hopes for Chirac's visit next May. "We hope our relationship will see new development in the economic and political spheres," he said.

"Concerning human rights, we appreciate the position of President Chirac, who advocates strengthening dialogue without confrontation," he added.

Chirac's visit next year is to cement relations with China that began improving only in 1994 following a row two years earlier over France's sale of fighter planes to Taiwan.

Beijing, which has ruled Tibet since 1950, has already condemned a visit by the exiled spiritual leader to the European parliament in Strasbourg as "gross interference" in its internal affairs.

He will also be given a cross-party petition signed by 245 deputies calling for genuine dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama over Tibet.

On Thursday, Chinse foreign ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said Beijing was ready for talks with him, but that "he has never said he is opposed to Tibet's independence."

The Dalai Lama was clear Monday what the aim of his trip was. "I have come to France first to see old friends," he said.