DHARAMSALA, August 15, 1997 -- The Tibet Times conducted an interview with the Chairman of Kashag, Mr. Sonam Topygal on 14 August, with regard to the above report.

Kalon Sonam Topgyal refuted Gyaltsen Norbu's statement as a repetition of Chinese propaganda and said that the statement didn't contain any new development. As customary with the Chinese to blame His Holiness the Dalai Lama and "his clique" for any calamity to have befallen on Tibet, the report brought to light the same stand by all levels of Tibetan Autonomous Region's officials, he said.

Denouncing the talks as baseless, Kalon Sonam Topgyal cited the failure of the fact-finding delegations and the two exploratory delegations from Dharamsala, starting from 1979, during which the Tibetan delegations' requests for negotiations were declined by the Chinese authorities. He said that the three exploratory visits to Beijing by Tibetan delegations and the Tibetan side's efforts to reach a negotiations through NGOS failed because of China's insincerity in resolving the Tibetan issue through negotiaitons. The Kalon made it clear that during the exploratory talks or other attempts, the delegations had never said that His Holiness the Dalai Lama wishes to separate Tibet from China.

Referring to the Strasbourg Proposal, he explained that His Holiness the Dalai Lama had asserted on the independent state of Tibet prior to Chinese invasion in 1949, while recognising the Tibet's interest in being a part of Tibet in future, to the mutual benefit of both countries. "Whenever His Holiness the Dalai Lama visits a foreign country, he asks for the support of the country's people and government in seeking a peaceful solution of the Tibetan issue and not to assert Tibet's separation from China.

When asked whether the Tibetan government has issued any rejointer to the Chinese reference to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet, the chairman of Kashag, said that the Tibetan government has not reacted on occasion. "But whenever His Holiness the Dalai Lama expressed his wish to visit Tibet, there was no response from China. To be more precise, in the early days the only response China gave was the assertion of Hu-Yao-pang's five point policy on Dalai Lama, in which China has mentioned that if the Dalai Lama returns to Tibet, he'll be designated as the vice-chairman of Chinese People's Committee and vice-chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference."

Referring to China's reduction of the Tibetan issue to that of the person of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Kalon said, "On the other hand, His Holiness always speaks about the need to restore the well-being of six million Tibetans. His Holiness attaches more importance to ending the miseries of the Tibetan people who are suffering under the Chinese occupation, rather than his own personal welfare and his return to Tibet."

"The main goal of the Tibetan administration for the past thirty eight years has been to preserve Tibet's unique cultural and religious heritage, to decry the sinocisation of Tibet and to promote the Tibetan identity. His Holiness the Dalai Lama's middle way approach is also based on these factors," the Kalon said, refuting the Chinese report which reduced His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Tibet campaign to the issue of his personal well-being.