Dalai Lama to return to Dharamsala soon

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who underwent prostrate surgery in the US, will return to Dharamsala soon, Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay said on Thursday.

"His Holiness will return to Dharamsala in the next few days after having successfully completed medical treatment in the US," Sangay said here on the 57th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day.

Reiterating the commitment to the "middle way approach" of not seeking separation from China but genuine autonomy for the people in Tibet, he said: "We firmly believe that the longstanding issue of Tibet can be resolved through dialogue between the envoys of His Holiness and representatives of the Chinese government."

He clarified that the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) remained fully committed to the "middle way approach" that clearly seeks genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within China.

"It is hoped the leaders in Beijing will see reason with the middle way approach, instead of distorting it, and step forward to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama's envoys."

The Dalai Lama along with his followers has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. The Tibetan administration in exile is based in this northern Indian hill town.

The recent self-immolation by two youths in addition to 142 self-immolations in the past is evidence of the lack of freedom in Tibet, said Sangay, the first elected "prime minister" whose first term is nearing completion.

On China's stand to right to decide reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, he said: "The power and authority to decide the reincarnation rests solely with the Dalai Lama. Nobody else has the right to do so."

The Tibetan administration-in-exile observes March 10 as the day Chinese troops suppressed the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa in 1959, forcing the Dalai Lama and over 80,000 Tibetans into exile in India and other countries.