Tibetan leader expects more back-channel talks with China, but not hopeful on results

By Krishna N. Das

DHARAMSHALA, India (Reuters) -The Tibetan government-in-exile could hold more back-channel talks with China this year on greater autonomy for Tibet, although they are unlikely to yield results given Beijing's unyielding stance, the head of the government said on Friday.

Central Tibetan Administration chief Penpa Tsering was speaking to Reuters ahead of the 90th birthday this weekend of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. 

Tens of thousands of Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, live in northern India after fleeing Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama and exiled Tibetans have dropped calls for independence from China, but are seeking genuine autonomy to protect and preserve their unique culture, religion and national identity.

Tsering said indirect talks with China have not resulted in anything concrete yet, and although more are expected he did not expect them to yield results.

"There seems to be no space for any negotiation whatsoever, no common sense, unfortunately," he said in an interview at a library dedicated to preserving traditional Tibetan texts.

"So if there is no space, it doesn't make too much sense to put too much effort into it. But we still keep the back channels going to send messages here and there, but nothing of consequence."

The foreign ministry of China, which brands the Dalai Lama a separatist, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Dalai Lama said on Wednesday that upon his death, he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual head and that only his Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He previously said that person would be born outside China.

   Beijing says it has the right to approve the successors of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure of the faith, as a legacy from imperial times.

INDIA'S BACKING

Tsering welcomed comments from Indian minister Kiren Rijiju this week, who backed the Dalai Lama's stance on his succession in a rare public contradiction of China by a senior New Delhi official. His remarks drew a strong response from Beijing.

Rijiju, a Buddhist and the minister of parliamentary and minority affairs, later said he was speaking as a devotee of the Dalai Lama. He will be among Indian officials who will attend the birthday celebrations on Sunday, in a show of solidarity.

"India will always be on the right side of history," Tsering said. "When it comes to His Holiness' reincarnation, what Kiren Rijiju said ... reflects the sentiment of the government and the Indian people."

India's foreign ministry said the government "does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion".

Tsering said India was also among countries that were standing by the community financially. The government-in-exile needs $40 million annually for its work, $14 million of which used to come from the United States.

Following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to review foreign funding, Tibetans are now getting only about $9 million. Nevertheless, the U.S. continues to support Tibetans and four State Department officials will attend the birthday.

"India is our biggest benefactor in all humanitarian support and all that. Then it's the United States," he said. "Then there are several countries like Canada and Denmark, who support us on education."

He also said his government was closely monitoring the resettlement of Tibetans from India to other countries in search of better opportunities. The Tibetan population in India was nearly 100,000 years ago, but has now fallen to around 70,000, officials say.

"We monitor the developments, look at the statistics, look at possible future challenges, those possible future opportunities, and then lay the groundwork for everything."

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in Dharamshala; Additional reporting by Sunil Kataria; Editing by Sharon Singleton)