Stop maligning the Dalai Lama, Tutu tells China

Johannesburg - South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu on Tuesday urged China to stop blaming the Dalai Lama over the recent outbreak of violence in Tibet and instead hold talks with the Tibetan spiritual leader.

'China must stop naming, blaming and verbally abusing one whose life has been devoted to non-violence, His Holiness the Dalai Lama,' Tutu said. 'Listen to His Holiness pleas for restraint, calm and no further violence against this civilian population of monastics and lay people,' he said.

Protests by Tibetans in China and other countries began on March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule. China has been blasted for its heavy-handed response. The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since 1959. Tutu, who shot to fame as the archbishop who led South Africans in protest against apartheid, also said the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, should be allowed visit Tibet.

'This will help not only Tibet, but China,' Tutu said. '

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