By IANS,
Dharamsala : A Japanese delegation that included two parliamentarians has supported Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama’s policy of ‘middle-path’ that demands greater autonomy for Tibetans, an official said here Friday.
“During its visit to Dharamsala Thursday, a seven-member Japanese delegation expressed its support for the ‘middle-way’ policy for resolving the issue of Tibet,” an official spokesperson for the Central Tibetan Administration told IANS.
He said the delegation, including Hakubun Shimomura and Eriko Yamatani, both members of parliament from the Liberal Democratic Party, had an audience with the Nobel laureate. They also met prime minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay and parliament speaker Penpa Tsering.
The delegates expressed concern over the human rights violations in Tibet, the spokesperson added.
The Dalai Lama, 76, has been following a “middle-path” policy that seeks greater autonomy for Tibet rather than complete independence. But the Chinese view him as a hostile person bent on splitting Tibet from China.
The Dalai Lama along with many of his supporters fled Tibet and took refuge in India when Chinese troops moved in and took control of Lhasa in 1959. He then headed a Tibetan government-in-exile which never won recognition from any country.
India is home to around 100,000 Tibetans.