Tibetans forced to oppose Dalai Lama's return - group

By Benjamin Kang Lim

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities have been forcing Tibetans to sign a petition opposing the Dalai Lama's return, a London-based group said, in apparent retaliation for the award of a high U.S. honour to Tibet's spiritual leader.

President George W. Bush gave the exiled god-king the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington in October, infuriating Beijing. It came on the heels of the Dalai Lama's reception by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in September.

The Dalai Lama, 72, has lived in exile in India since fleeing his predominantly Buddhist homeland in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule. Closed-door talks between Beijing and his envoys have made little progress.

"The Chinese authorities are really stepping up their anti-Dalai Lama rhetoric and propaganda," Anne Holmes, acting director of the Free Tibet Campaign, said in an e-mail on Sunday.

During a public meeting in December in Lithang in the Kham area of Gansu province, which is populated largely by Tibetans, residents were asked to raise their hands if they opposed the Dalai Lama's return. No one obliged, the campaign group said.

Residents were then asked to raise their hands if they did not have weapons at home. As it is illegal to possess firearms, everyone raised their hand. A photo was then taken and sent to state media, claiming residents were opposed to the Dalai Lama's return, the Free Tibet Campaign said.

Also in December, secretaries and accountants in townships in Gansu were invited on a nationwide tour paid for by the government, the group said.