Balancing act of Dalai Lama's visit

By Jill McGivering
World affairs correspondent, BBC News

The Dalai Lama is the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet

The Dalai Lama is starting a 10-day visit to the UK. His tour comes against the backdrop of a tense relationship between Tibet and China.

The timing of the Dalai Lama's visit is critical. The violent protests which erupted just over two months ago thrust Tibet back into the international spotlight.

China is now also in mourning for the earthquake victims as well as preparing to host the Olympic Games, a matter of intense domestic pride.

As it takes its place on the world stage, Beijing is eager to avoid diplomatic embarrassment.

So those who argue that international leverage can play an important role in encouraging fruitful dialogue on Tibet see this as an important opportunity to apply pressure.

The UK, with its long historic connections to Tibet, may have a role to play. But the government knows too that political endorsement of the Dalai Lama always sparks angry complaint from Beijing.

Religious role

Former prime ministers Tony Blair and John Major each received the Dalai Lama at Number 10 when they were in office.

Gordon Brown is meeting him instead at Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The move puts the emphasis more on the Dalai Lama's religious than political role.

It may have been an attempt to find a compromise - but critics say the decision will merely cause distress in all quarters.

The Chinese, they argue, will still be angry. Supporters of the Dalai Lama will be offended at this apparent downgrading of his political status.

Increased tensions

All this takes place as inside Tibet the situation is tense and security heightened.

Access and information are limited and there is increasing concern about an apparent crackdown by the Chinese security forces on Tibet's monasteries and general population.

The protests increased tensions between the Dalai Lama and Beijing. The Chinese authorities accuse the Dalai Lama of hypocrisy and accuse him and his supporters of instigating the violence, something the Dalai Lama denies.

A similar debate rages about what the Dalai Lama advocates for Tibet. The Chinese authorities see him as a dangerous subversive who is trying to damage China's territorial integrity by demanding Tibetan independence.

In fact the Dalai Lama advocates the so-called Middle Way, a more moderate solution which would give Tibet increased autonomy - including greater religious and political freedom - within a Chinese framework.

Man of peace

The situation is complicated by the vast perception gap between the public in the West and in China.

Many in the West are sympathetic toward the Dalai Lama, respecting him as a Nobel Laureate and a man of peace. There is concern too about the plight of China's Tibetan minority.

Just a few days ago, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tibet released a report which called for an independent UN investigation into the protests and the crackdown which followed.

It called on the Chinese government to provide more information about detainees, account for those killed and release those who protested peacefully.

Significant difference

But many Chinese people see things differently. They are frustrated with the Tibetan minority, accusing them of being ungrateful and of harming China's national interest.

Many accept their government's argument that the country has spent substantial amounts in recent years developing Tibet's infrastructure, economy and social facilities.

Many Tibetans admit there has been development - but complain that Han Chinese settlers have benefited most.

So what can the Dalai Lama's visit to the UK actually achieve? In the aftermath of the protests, envoys from the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government met and fresh talks are now planned for next month.

It is a fresh momentum dogged by suspicion on both sides. Sceptics say the talks are cosmetic, an attempt by Beijing to appease international criticism until the Olympics are over.

But others hail this as an opportunity to be seized - and say increased pressure from foreign governments, including the UK, could make a significant difference.