World Tibet Network News Thursday, May 14, 1998

NEW DELHI, May 14 (AFP) - A delegation of leaders of Tibetan exiles on Thursday hailed Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for carrying out a series of nuclear tests.

The delegation also urged Vajpayee to persuade China to open negotiations with the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

"We are so happy and proud that India has shown the world that it is no less than any other country," said Dolma Gyari, a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile based in the Indian town of Dharamsala. "The Indian prime minister should ask the Chinese to negotiate with the Dalai Lama for a peaceful solution to the Tibetan issue," Gyari said after a brief meeting with Vajpayee at his

residence here.

"India plays a very sensitive role on the question of Tibet," Gyari said. "India has a moral responsibility to solve the Tibetan issue."

The Dalai Lama has been living in India since he fled his homeland in 1959 after a failed anti-Chinese uprising. India is also home to more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles.