Dharamsala, Mar 10 : Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama today announced his decision to retire from active politics, saying the time had come to be succeeded by a "freely elected" leader.
The 76-year-old head of the exiled Tibetan movement said he will formally propose to Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile that necessary amendments be made to reflect his decision.
"As early as the 1960s, I have repeatedly stressed that Tibetans need a leader elected freely by the Tibetan people to whom I can devolve power. Now we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect," he said speaking on the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.
"During the forthcoming 11th session of the 14th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile which begins on March 14, I will formally propose that the necessary amendments be made to the Charter for Tibetans-in-Exile, reflecting my decision to devolve my formal authority to the elected leader," he said.
The Dalai Lama, who had come to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said, "My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility. It is to benefit Tibetans in the long run. It is not because I feel disheartened."
The Nobel Peace Prize winner said he was committed to playing his part in the "just cause" of Tibet. He hoped that gradually people will come to understand his intention and accordingly let his decision take effect.
The Dalai Lama had earlier given hints about stepping down as the political head of the Tibetan movement.
The Dalai Lama, who had escaped to India as a young man, has been the torch bearer of the struggle for freedom of a small religious minority from the oppressive communist regime in China.
He was just 15 years old when he became the 'head of state' of Tibet in 1950 and over six decades since then, he has brought his cause for rights of his people on the global stage.
Vilified by the Chinese as a "wolf in monk's robe", the 75-year-old leader has taken a march over his critics by announcing his decision today to step down as the political head of the exiled Tibetan movement.
A Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Dalai Lama had earlier talked about retiring and in his address this morning on the occassion of 52nd anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day, he said Tibetans needed a leader elected freely by the Tibetan people to whom he could devolve power.
After China invaded Tibet in 1949, he was appointed as the Tibetan political and spiritual leader a year later.
Seeking rights for his people, the Dalai Lama had gone in 1954 to Beijing, then known as Peking, to hold peace talks with top Chinese leaders like Mao Zedong but his efforts failed.
In March 1959, as Chinese troops crushed an attempted uprising in Tibet, he fled into India.
In the last 60 years, the Dalai Lama has advocated a non-violent campaign against the Chinese control of his homeland even though some of the factions within the movement have had a more radical agenda.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his consistent opposition to the use of violence in his quest for Tibetan self-rule.
The Chinese leadership views him as a "splittist", although he has repeatedly stated that his goal is for Tibetan autonomy rather than independence.
Born on July 6, 1935, he is one the most well-known Buddhist monks. He was the fifth of 16 children to farmer parents. He was educated at a monastery and went on to achieve the Geshe Lharampa Degree, a doctorate of Buddhist philosophy.
It was in 1950, when he was 15, that the troops of the newly-installed Communist government marched into Tibet.
When he was two years old, a search party of Buddhist officials decided that he was the reincarnation of the 13 previous Dalai Lamas and he was anointed before he turned four.
The Dalai Lama's temporal duties were largely ceremonial and he had pronounced himself "semi-retired" following the first direct election in 2001 of a prime minister as the formal head of the exiled Tibetan government.
In his address today, the Dalai Lama acknowledged "repeated and earnest" requests from within Tibet and outside to continue as political leader, but appealed for understanding of his decision to step down.
The Dalai Lama has maintained a hectic schedule meeting world leaders to espouse his cause and delivering lectures in top institutions despite his advancing age.
As part of his efforts, he persuaded the UN General Assembly to adopt resolutions in 1959, 1961 and 1965 calling for the protection of the Tibetan people.
In 1987, amid protests in Lhasa against the large-scale relocation of Han Chinese into Tibet, the Dalai Lama had proposed a five-point plan, in which he had called for the establishment of Tibet as a zone of peace.
He has continued to seek dialogue with Beijing. Talks between the two sides broke down in 1993 and there were no more for nearly a decade. Discussions resumed in 2002 and have continued intermittently but with no apparent progress.
One of the worst unrests broke out in Lhasa in 2008 with the Tibetans claiming that nearly 200 people had been killed in alleged crackdown by the Chinese security forces.
Beijing had, however, put the number of the dead in the violence at 18.
Talks in November 2008 ended with China apparently hardening its position and denouncing the Tibetan proposal for autonomy as a bid for "disguised independence".
As the Dalai Lama announced his intention to retire from active politics, the Tibetan government-in-exile today said the spiritual leader's decision could undermine its legitimacy and indicated that the transition process cannot take place immediately.
Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche said the Dalai Lama wants to completely retire from politics as he feels that "political leadership should not be confined to one person and individual".
Addressing a press conference minutes after the Dalai Lama delivered his annual address on the occasion of 52nd Tibetan Uprising Day, Rinpoche said, "Legitimacy would be the biggest issue before us if His Holiness's desires are fulfilled. He is the face and the Tibetan government and after that we may have any legitimacy in the eyes of the people."
According to him, the political transition which the Dalai Lama wants is unlikely to happen immediately.
"Despite His Holiness's request, the Tibetans and the government-in-exile do not feel competent to lead ourselves independently without him. It is a very long and difficult process. We have to think in an innovative manner to solve the issue... We don't have ready made solutions to this issue," he told the press conference, which had a considerable presence from the international media.
He said the spiritual leader is the political and executive head of the Tibetan government-in-exile and every decision taken by it has to be approved by him. If the Dalai Lama's steps down, the political head of the government would be the Kashag, the prime minister or the head of the cabinet.
To a specific question, Rinpoche said the Tibetan parliament-in-exile would have to find an innovative way to "accommodate" the aspirations of the Tibetan people and the desire of the Dalai Lama.
"It appears that the resolution of the His Holiness will not be passed. In that case there will be a deadlock. We are urging the Legislative to find a wise way so that people's aspirations are also met... But the issue cannot be solved in a day or two," he said.
He also said the government-in-exile has to find a way to keep the dialogue process with China on and admitted that the Dalai Lama's decision would affect the talk process to resolve the vexed Tibet issue. ( Read: China says Dalai's retirement a political trick )
Rinpoche said the Dalai Lama will continue to be the spiritual leader as it does not come by appointment or by election. "It is all self-evident and it would not change."
To a specific query, he said a few "aggressive" youths who protest against the Chinese government does not represent the youth of Tibet. "Tibetan youth believe in non-violence. A few youths may be aggressive but they are not violent," he said. PTI
