The Dalai Lama has formally announced his retirement as Tibetan political leader and said he would hand power to an elected successor.
In a speech delivered in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala last Thursday, the Dalai Lama said he would ask the Tibetan parliament-in-exile to begin the formal process of his resignation on Monday. China's foreign ministry described the move as a "trick."
The Dalai Lama sent a seven-page formal letter to the Tibetan parliament in exile in Dharamsala.
"The essence of a democratic system is, in short, the assumption of political responsibility by elected leaders for the popular good," the Tibetan leader said in a letter published on his website. "In order for our process of democratization to be complete, the time has come for me to devolve my formal authority to such an elected leadership."
The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959, has repeatedly said he seeks autonomy for Tibet rather than independence from China.
Beijing accused the Nobel Peace Prize winner of orchestrating the March 2008 unrest in Tibet, which left 19 people dead and 623 injured, according to official Chinese reports. The Dalai Lama has denied the allegations.
NEW DELHI, March 14 (RIA Novosti)
