Obama aides at Dharamsala

Senior Obama administration officials held talks with top members of the Tibetan government in-exile at its headquarters at Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, on Sunday, ahead of what is being described as a "significant" meeting with the Dalai Lama on Monday.

A three-member White House team led by senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett, which arrived on a special chartered flight at Kangra's Gaggal airstrip on Saturday afternoon, held meetings on Sunday with Tibetan "prime minister" Samdhong Rinpoche and the Dalai Lama's special envoy, Lodi Gyari.

While officials have not disclosed any details about the closed-door meetings, sources said the "discussions possibly included the possibility of reopening the Tibet-China dialogue in preparation for the US delegation's meeting with.

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Dalai: China made Tibet ‘hell on earth’

Fifty years after Tibet’s failed uprising against the annexation by China, the Dalai Lama has said the five decades of Communist rule has turned his Himalayan homeland into a “hell on Earth,” brought on by “death” and “destruction.” The Tibetan spiritual leader told a congregation of thousands at the Tsuglag Khang (main temple) in Dharamsala, his home in exile, that his patience with the Chinese leadership was beginning to wear thin.

Accusing China of deliberately building a climate of fear through its violent campaigns since 1959, he said: “These thrust Tibetans into such depths of suffering and hardship that they literally experienced hell on earth.” He added: “The immediate result of these campaigns was the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Tibetans.”

“The past 50 years,” the Dalai Lama told his captivated listeners from around the world, “have brought untold suffering and destruction to the land and people of Tibet. Even today, Tibetans in Tibet live in constant fear and the Chinese authorities remain constantly suspicious of them.

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‘Little Tibet' torch brighter

Statistics can be deceptive, but in a country where there are only about 140 police personnel per one lakh of population, an estimated 17,000 security personnel on Thursday guarded the Beijing Olympics torch to ensure its smooth passage through India.

The majestic Rajpath witnessed unprecedented security for a symbolic event, which was smooth and incident free although Tibet supporters held demonstrations here since early Thursday morning, including taking out a parallel torch relay to protest against Chinese repression in Tibet.

The relay passed off uneventfully but left in its wake barricaded roads, massive traffic jams and grumbling commuters trying their best to get home in a city paralysed. A two-km radius around India Gate was blocked to traffic with several rings of security sealing the area.

The Olympic torch relay ran into more trouble with ace shooter Jaspal Rana and musician Ayaan Ali Bangash pulling out barely a few hours before the event, citing personal reasons. The two were part of the official list of torch-bearers announced by the Indian Olympic Association. Their withdrawals came a day after Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar gave the relay a miss.

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