China Ridicules Dalai Lama, Despite 'talks'

The Chinese Communist party's official mouthpiece has poured fresh scorn on the Dalai Lama, only two days after the government's abrupt announcement that it would meet his aides within days.

Tibetan exiles had greeted the announcement warily and the Dalai Lama's nephew, Khedroob Thondup, a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, yesterday attacked it as a "ruse" designed "to deflect pressure and give false assurance to western leaders".

Yesterday's People's Daily commentary claimed: "The Dalai clique have always been masters at games with words and the ideas that they have tossed about truly make the head spin ... Those who split the nation are criminals to history."

The renewed attack came as a leading Tibetan official launched an extraordinarily frank condemnation of the handling of recent protests in Tibet.

Bai Ma, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference committee in Qinghai province, said: "It is regrettable that authorities in Lhasa failed to take firm action to control the situation during the first few hours of the March 14 riots ... They did not have enough police. They had guns, but they could not open fire without permission from above."

He told the South China Morning Post that the situation at the Drepung and Sera monasteries in Lhasa remained tense because of the patriotic education program targeting monks. "The heavy-handed and arbitrary tactics [of the government] only create more animosity."

The Olympic torch relay also continues to provoke controversy, with Hong Kong this weekend barring a Danish artist, Jens Galschiot, and his two sons who had planned to protest over human rights violations when the torch arrives this week.