Prime Minister of Tibetan government-in-exile Lobsang Sangay at a news meet in Bodhgaya on Thursday. Picture by Suman

Gaya, Jan. 5: The Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, today accused the Chinese government of adopting “double standards” in giving autonomy to the region.

“There is no constitutional problem but a lack of political will on part of the government of China to grant autonomy to Tibet,” he said.

“On one hand, as per the law in China, the government has granted autonomy to Hong Kong and Macau and it is now willing to grant autonomy to Taiwan too. But when it comes to Tibet, the Chinese government is adopting double standards. Why isn’t the Chinese government granting autonomy as per the Chinese law to the people of Tibet?” he asked.

Lobsang Sangay said he is ready for a dialogue with the Chinese government anywhere and anytime. Envoys of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile have held parleys with the Chinese government representatives nine times but without any concrete result.

“The Tibetan administration-in-exile stands for restoration of freedom and return of the spiritual leader of Buddhists, his holiness the Dalai Lama, to Tibet. To fulfil the aspirations of the Tibetans inside Tibet and also those residing outside, we are following two basic principles — non-violence and democracy. The base of our struggle is ‘ahimsa’, the teachings and the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. We want to solve the issue of Tibet peacefully and through dialogues,” he said.

Sangay alleged that the Chinese government has exploited the natural resources of Tibet.

“A lot of green trees were cut off for construction of roads. Natural mineral resources worth billions of dollars have also been taken out without providing any benefit to the Tibetan people. Felling of trees has caused environmental problems like landslide, scanty rainfall and pollution. At least 10 major rivers, including the Brahmaputra originate from Tibet. The Chinese government has also constructed a number of dams on the rivers. The Chinese government has intentions to divert the route of rivers to China,” he alleged.

Sangay said exploitation of environment in China had caused problems for the civilisation residing along the rivers in India, Bangladesh and other Asian countries.

The prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile is in Bodhgaya with some other members of his cabinet to participate in the ongoing 10-day Kalchakra Puja. He will stay in Bodhgaya till the puja concludes on January 10. Setting aside speculations that it will be the last Kalchakra Puja, Sangay said that the 33rd Kalchakra Puja will certainly be held but the schedule has not been fixed yet.

Expressing regret over the stand of the Chinese government, he said: “More than one million people residing in Tibet had desired to attend the Kalchakra Puja. But only 8,000 devotees from Tibet could come to Bodhgaya as the Chinese government did not issue passports to all those who had applied for the same.”