Dalai Lama urges hope, dialogue

SEATTLE – Still avoiding direct discussion of the situation in Tibet, the Dalai Lama on Saturday urged people to have hope for the future and to look past a century of bloodshed and toward a period of dialogue.

The spiritual leader of Tibet delivered his keynote speech to more than 50,000 people during the second day of a five-day conference on compassion.

Before the Dalai Lama’s speech, Lama Tenzin Dhonden, a Tibetan monk who spearheaded the Seeds of Compassion event, told the crowd that Tibet seeks only autonomy.

“Granting autonomy would be good for Tibet and also good for China, but autonomy requires China’s commitment to serious dialogue,” he said.

Organizers of Seeds of Compassion say the event is essentially nonpolitical, but references to Tibet were sprinkled throughout the first two days.

“Twentieth century become like century of bloodshed. I think it is our own responsibility to make this century be century of dialogue,” the Dalai Lama said.

Recent protests in Tibet against five decades of Chinese rule have been the largest and most sustained in almost two decades and have fueled protests that have disrupted the global torch relay for this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

China has accused the Dalai Lama of being involved in the uprising. He has said that he wants greater autonomy for the remote mountain region but is not seeking independence.

In Sanya, China, meanwhile, Chinese President Hu Jintao said Tibetan issues are for China to deal with alone.

In his first comments on the unrest, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Hu as saying Saturday that the matter is “entirely an internal issue of China.”

A handful of pro-China demonstrators distributed fliers and held posters in the sunshine outside some entrances to Seattle’s Qwest Field as people filed into the stadium.

The fliers listed the benefits of China’s presence in Tibet and criticized violence brought by pro-Tibet protesters in China. The demonstrators said some were students from the University of Washington and not affiliated with specific groups.

Ying Xiong, 30, said the group of volunteers were there to voice the other side of the issue because most people get the news from biased media.

Also, a small plane carrying a banner that said “Dalai Lama pls stop supporting riots!” flew over Qwest field during the event.

Students for a Free Tibet – which hung banners off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco – also was present, selling buttons to raise money for its efforts to protest the Olympics. The organization calls for full independence, unlike the Dalai Lama’s call for autonomy.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, meanwhile, said her participation in the event was not political. Her speech introducing the Dalai Lama was filled with praise to the Tibetan leader.

“To me, today is not about international politics,” Gregoire said after the event. “It’s a day to come together. I think he does a wonderful job. He gives us all hope.”