Sinha for putting pressure on China to quit Tibet

Chandigarh, June 28 (UNI) Former external affairs minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha today suggested that Indian groups supporting the cause of the Tibetans should organise a march to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh to put pressure on China to quit Tibet as well as from occupied Indian territory in the North East.

The march should be held sometime after September 15 and before the Beijing Olympics, he said while delivering the inagural address at the 2nd Indo-Tibetan Conference here today.

" This is the appropriate time to put pressure on the Chinese who are worried about the smooth conduct of the Olympics", he said while citing international opinion that had turned against China after the recent suppression of a Tibetan uprising.

Mr Sinha was of the opinion that India's support to the Tibetan cause should continue as the China has "intentions of absorbing areas of other countries on its borders, as had happened with Tibet". In the years to come the Tibet issue will either become a back burner or a final solution will emerge, he opined.

" China wants to swallow areas of other nations on its borders and this cannot be allowed", he said. There should be mutual trust between the two nations for Sino-Indo ties to move further, he added.

Favouring stronger Indo-Sino ties, Mr Sinha however stated that all outstanding issues or disputes between the two nations cannot be swept under the carpet. China's policy of suppressing the Tibetans and finishing off their culture just cannot be overlooked, he added.

" It will not be in the interests of India to discard the Tibetan issue, as this is very vital for the security of our country", he added while favouring putting more pressure on the Chinese to quit Tibet. Friendship should always be on the bases of equality, he added.

Refering to the recent crackdown by the Chinese in Tibet, Mr Sinha lamented that the UPA-government had "submitted to the will of China". He made it clear that if the NDA came to power, the government would accord priority to the Tibetan issue.

Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche in his speech that his country favoured peace in the Indian sub continent. " We do not want Sino-Indo relations to suffer because of us", he added while hoping that some concrete results would achieve in the next round of talks between the Tibetans and the Chinese.

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