Dalai Lama: Moral authority 'lacking' in China[fr] 

"If [China and Tibet] are truly friends, then we should be able to make clear to one another our faults," the 73-year-old said. "But becuase of its very poor record on human rights, religious freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of the press, the image of China in the field of moral authority is very, very poor," he told journalists after his address.

"Harmony between the major religions is absolutely possible" because they all profess the same messages of "love and compassion," His Holiness told MEPs. But "special effort" will be necessary to achieve this, he warned, "because wars are being fought in religion's name". 

Disregarding the speech he had prepared, which he urged those interested to read later, the Dalai Lama lamented that modern living placed "too much emphasis on material value". "Materially, we are very rich. But one of the most important aspects of happiness is linked to peace of mind. Too much stress, ambition and greed can destroy inner peace," he explained. 

The Dalai Lama's visit, which brings the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008 to a close, was overshadowed by the fall-out from last week’s decision by Beijing to cancel a scheduled summit between the EU and China over his presence in Europe. 

His Holiness told MEPs that he was not seeking an independent Tibet, but "general autonomy" within the People's Republic of China (PRC). "Chinese officials consider our approach as a separatist movement. It is not. This is totally wrong," he told journalists. 

European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering reacted by saying that the Parliament "recognises the territorial integrity of China, and Tibet is a part of China." Nevertheless, "we will always defend the rights of the Tibetan people," he declared. 

"The Chinese […] distort information and distort propaganda so much that I have a responsibility to explain the truth to leaders as much as possible," the Dalai Lama continued. "Every Tibetan wants progress, so it is in every Tibetan's interest to remain within the PRC," the exiled leader told Parliament, stressing his commitment to non-violent means of achieving more autonomy.  

But not all commentators agree with this interpretation. Writing on his blog , Stanley Crossick, the founder of the European Policy Centre, bemoans the lack of clarity surrounding the Dalai Lama's intentions, particularly concerning his desire for "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet. Likewise, he calls upon Beijing to define what it means by referring to Tibet as an "autonomous region" rather than a "province". 

Moreover, Crossick believes that promoting dialogue between cultures and religions cannot be the sole justification for the exiled leader's visit to Europe. "Talk about seeing him as a religious leader does not explain why a leader of only 3m meets so many western leaders so frequently," he states, refusing to believe that all they talk about is religion. 

As for His Holiness himself, he told journalists not to look for political calculations in every one of his movements. "The Chinese always treat my every move with great suspicion. I think they would even see some political significance in my drinking this glass of water," he joked, before taking a sip. 

Alluding to the recent Mumbai atrocities, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering said that in such times "faith leaders who preach a message of peach and reconciliation between peoples can make a major contribution to our society". 

Reacting to the Dalai Lama's speech, Pöttering told him that "if ever anyone doubted that you were a personality of dialogue, including the Chinese government, your speech has just [dispelled such doubts]". 

"The European Parliament calls on China to launch an immediate dialogue […] to address the rights of the Tibetan people," the president said, adding: "The religious and cultural freedom of Tibet must be recognised." 

Speaking after a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme on Wednesday, the Dalai Lama said the Chinese had initially reacted in a "tough" manner to his visit, "but now it can go smoothly. At the beginning there was some kind of threat, then eventually not much sort of follow-up". 

Last week, the Chinese government told the French EU Presidency that it had based its decision to cancel the EU-China summit due to the fact that the Dalai Lama would be "visiting several EU countries at the same time" to "meet with heads of state and government as well as presidents of European institutions". 

The Greens/European Free Alliance in the European Parliament used the occasion of the Dalai Lama's visit to call for renewed dialogue between China and Tibet. 

"The European Parliament has consistently done all in its power to draw attention to issues in Tibet and to support the Dalai Lama's moderate position: genuine autonomy for the region, within the bounds of the Chinese constitution," said Greens/EFA Group Co-Presidents Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni. 

"The Greens, with the support of the rest of the European Parliament, have called on Council to nominate a special envoy for Tibetan affairs to closely follow relations between the Dalai Lama's representatives and the Chinese authorities," they continued. 

"As the Dalai Lama said today, unity and harmony are only possible when there is trust and mutual respect. In the wake of the postponement of the EU-China summit, Nicolas Sarkozy will meet the Dalai Lama on 6 December in Poland. We call on him to do everything he can to encourage the Chinese authorities to reopen meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives, with the goal of an agreement between the two parties that leads to solid results," Cohn-Bendit and Frassoni concluded. 

On his blog , European Policy Centre founder Stanley Crossick states that "no issue causes greater misunderstanding or produces greater misperceptions [between China and the West] than Tibet and the Dalai Lama." "No agreement is possible over the alleged rights and wrongs of sides," while it is difficult to "separate fact from distortion, whether its source is Tibetan, Chinese or Western," Crossick asserts.