Britain 'not doing enough for Tibet'

Britain and the rest of the international community is not making enough effort to support the campaign to secure autonomy for Tibet from China, the Dalai Lama has told MPs.

Speaking the day before he holds talks with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, the Tibetan political and spiritual leader accused the Chinese authorities of "a record of fear and a record of terror" in Tibet and demanded an international inquiry into alleged human rights abuses.

Asked if Britain was doing enough to support the Tibetans, he replied: "I think not enough. Even India, not enough."

But the Dalai Lama acknowledged that there were "limitations" to the practical steps foreign powers could take to press for Tibetan autonomy. He brushed aside the row over Mr Brown's decision not to meet him in Downing Street, insisting: "It's a meeting and talk is important. The form, the venue does not matter... The most important thing is to talk at the level of the human being. Then it's easier to understand others' point of view."

Charming MPs during yesterday's one-hour meeting with the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, the Dalai Lama joked with MPs and journalists in the packed Westminster meeting room.

Pulling out the contents of his bag, he brandished a sun visor and boiled sweets and joked about meagre airline food. He even admitted that he had taken the precaution of taking leftovers from his hotel breakfast with him, because as a Buddhist monk he cannot eat after noon. He said: "Sometimes breakfast quite small. I need quality but quantity. A Buddhist monk – no dinner. I always carry some bread from the hotel."

References to his meeting with Mr Brown today were met with giggles as he thanked MPs for their advice when they asked if he would raise issues about the Chinese with the Prime Minister.

The Dalai Lama told MPs he still held out hope of progress towards autonomous rule and said it was possible the Chinese authorities would lift their decades-old ban on him returning to Tibet.

He suggested that some in Tibet could abandon his philosophy of non-violent protest if there was no movement from the Chinese. "Whether intentional or unintentional, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place," he said.

Interesting? Click here to explore further