Dalai Lama to retire; wants transparency in China's freedom

New Delhi, Mar 10: It was on the air that spiritual leader Dalai Lama soon will step down from his political power but now the news is confirmed. The leader himself announced that he will quit as the political head of the Tibetan government- in-exile. However, the leader also expressed his desire to see a greater transparency in China in the means of freedom of speech and expression.

During his speech celebrating the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising, Dalai Lama claimed, "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," added Dalai Lama in Dharamsala which is believed as the centre of Tibetan government-in-exile.

Appreciating China's recent progress, the spiritual leader stated, "China, with the world's largest population, is an emerging world power and I admire the economic development it has made."

However, expressing his views, Dalai Lama claimed, "It also has huge potential to contribute to human progress and world peace. But to do that, China must earn the international community's respect and trust."

"In order to earn such respect China's leaders must develop greater transparency, their actions corresponding to their words. To ensure this, freedom of expression and freedom of the press are essential," the leader added.

Recently, China has irked a controversy by stating that Tibet will be unmoved after Dalai Lama's death. A top Chinese official Qiangba Puncog stated, "...he (Dalai Lama) has no power over Tibet's political issues. So the overall social situation will remain stable, and we (China) are prepared to handle some minor turbulence after his death."

The entire Tibetan region in 2008 witnessed a violent anti-government riots that killed at least 22 people and set off a wave of protests across Tibetan areas of western China. However, the region is quiet now. Dalai Lama also asserted that he does not want independence for Tibet, only meaningful autonomy.

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