Envoy says Tibetans want trouble-free Olympics

By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Beijing Olympics that goes smoothly without "unhealthy disturbances" will best serve Tibetans by fostering a more confident China, said the chief envoy of the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.

Lodi Gyari said the Dalai Lama, believing the Olympics would have a positive impact on Chinese society, had endorsed holding the games in China before Beijing was selected in 2001.

"We would like them to be a success, not so much for the political leadership of China, but for China as a nation and Chinese as a people, because it is very important that she gets the needed international recognition and self-confidence," Gyari said in recent interview in Washington.

Human rights activists have criticized plans by Western leaders such U.S. President George W. Bush and French President Nicholas Sarkozy to attend the Olympics. But their presence in Beijing could be helpful, said Gyari.

"We are not at all opposed to international leaders participating, because it is important that the Chinese people feel that they are being honored, that there are global leaders there to celebrate together their coming of age," he said.

After the most recent round of Tibet-China talks on July 1 and 2 in Beijing, Gyari told the media at the Dalai Lama's base in India he was concerned the Chinese were not serious about engaging Tibetans and were merely stalling for time to ease international pressure before the Aug. 8-24 Olympics.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule that was imposed by military force earlier that decade, wants autonomy for the Himalayan region within China. Beijing has labelled the Dalai Lama a separatist whose terms amount to a bid for independence.