Washington: The United States today rejected China's charges that Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama would back suicide attack, calling him a "man of peace" with whom Beijing should speak

"No. Thats the simple answer. Look, the Dalai Lama is a man of peace," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters when asked if Washington agreed with the allegations.

"There's absolutely no indication that he wants to do anything other than have a dialogue with China to discuss how to deal with some of the serious issues there," Casey said.

"We continue to encourage the Chinese to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama and is representatives. I think that is the most effective way for these issues to be managed in the long term," he said.

"In the sort term we continue to urge the Chinese government to exercise restraint in terms of dealing with any protests that are out there," he said.

Chinese police today said Tibetans were planning suicide attacks as part of a campaign ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to push for independence in their homeland.

"To our knowledge, the next plan of the Tibetan independence forces is to organise suicide squads to launch violent attacks," Chinese public security ministry spokesman Wu Heping said.

Source : PTI