WASHINGTON - The United States on Tuesday rejected China's charges that Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama would back suicide attacks, calling him a "man of peace" with whom Beijing should speak.
"No. That's the simple answer. Look, the Dalai Lama is a man of peace," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters when asked if Washington agreed with the allegations.
"There's absolutely no indication that he wants to do anything other than have a dialogue with China to discuss how to deal with some of the serious issues there," Casey said.
"We continue to encourage the Chinese to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama and his representatives. I think that is the most effective way for these issues to be managed in the long term," he said.
"In the short term we continue to urge the Chinese government to exercise restraint in terms of dealing with any protests that are out there," he said.
Chinese police on Tuesday said Tibetans were planning suicide attacks as part of a campaign ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to push for independence in their homeland.
"To our knowledge, the next plan of the Tibetan independence forces is to organize suicide squads to launch violent attacks," Chinese public security ministry spokesman Wu Heping said. "They fear neither bloodshed nor sacrifice."
Wu linked the alleged suicide attack plans to the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, and said explosives had been found in Buddhist monasteries in Tibet.
Wu's assertions were among the most dramatic by China in its propaganda offensive against the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of masterminding the unrest that broke out last month in Tibet against Chinese rule of the Himalayan region.
The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, has repeatedly denied orchestrating the unrest, spoken out against the protests when they turned violent, and denied he wants independence for his homeland.
Meanwhile, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is urging President George W. Bush to consider skipping the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics over China's crackdown on protests in Tibet.
Bush is planning to attend the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.
"I'm looking at the president having made a very clear and definitive statement of his views on this subject and I would look to him for any additional comments on it," Casey said when asked if Washington was looking at the option of such a boycott.
lc/mac

04/01/2008 15:02 GMT