Tibetans decide to stick to Dalai Lama's "Middle Way"

By Bappa Majumdar

DHARAMSALA (Reuters) - Tibetan exiles reaffirmed their commitment to the so-called "Middle Way" approach to China on Saturday but expressed impatience with the lack of progress in autonomy talks with Beijing.

The decision followed a meeting of hundreds of Tibetans this week in Dharamsala, seat of Tibet's government-in-exile, to chart a course after eight rounds of official talks.

The Middle Way, espoused by the Dalai Lama, abandons the dream of an independent Tibet in favour of seeking greater autonomy within China through dialogue.

"We will continue with the Middle Way approach, and if there is no progress within a short period we will consider other options, including independence," Karma Choephel, speaker of the parliament-in-exile, told the gathering.

Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and the Dalai Lama fled the mountainous region in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The exiled government consulted thousands of Tibetans inside Tibet before the meeting. Officials said they had agreed to send no more delegations for talks with China unless Beijing came up with a "purposeful proposal".

If China did not respond, a call for independence could be the only option left, Dolma Gyari, parliament's deputy speaker, told reporters.

"But we have no time frame, the time frame will be either made by the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan parliament or the cabinet," Choephel said.