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DHARAMSALA

NAT21National/Diplomacy/PoliticsDalai Lama's envoys, China to hold talks this monthDharamsala, Oct 3 IANS Envoys of Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama are busy chalking out strategy for the eighth round of talks on autonomy for Tibet with the Chinese government to be held by the end of this month.The parleys that resumed in September 2002 have been aimed at allowing more autonomy for the Buddhist region but so far there has been no major breakthrough."The talks will certainly be held in the last week of this month, but the exact dates will be revealed once we get final clearance from the Chinese leadership," Dalai Lama's spokesman Thubten Samphel told IANS Friday.Special envoys Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, who participated in the last round of talks in China, will again try to tie the loose ends.Said Samphel: "We are keeping our fingers crossed about the outcome of the talks. We believe in the future and not in the past. Our ultimate hope is to settle the issue once and for all."The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 following Chinese occupation of Tibet. The Tibetan government-in-exile is based in this town in Himachal Pradesh.In recent months, the Nobel Peace Prize winner has travelled across the world to garner support for 'meaningful autonomy' for Tibet. He has denied China's claims that he wants independence for Tibet, saying he only seeks greater autonomy."Whatever be the outcome, all Tibetans inside and outside Tibet remain concerned. It's an issue concerning the future of Tibet," said Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile which is not recognised by any country in the world.But political observers pointed out that China asserted only last month that it, and not the Dalai Lama, are the real guardians of Tibet's culture and it also denounced a telephone call made by US President George W. Bush to the Dalai Lama as interference in Beijing's internal affairs.--Indo-Asian News Servicevg/pg/jg344 Words03101450