Seattle: The Dalai Lama planned to speak about the turmoil in Tibet today, but so far on his US tour he has simply urged people to have hope for the future and to look past a century of bloodshed and toward a period of dialogue.

The spiritual leader of Tibet delivered his keynote speech yesterday to more than 50,000 people during the second day of a five-day conference on compassion.

Before Dalai Lama's speech, Lama Tenzin Dhonden, a Tibetan monk who spearheaded the Seeds of Compassion event, told the crowd that Tibet seeks only autonomy.

"Granting autonomy would be good for Tibet and also good for China, but autonomy requires China's commitment to serious dialogue," he said.

The organisers say the Dalai Lama will address the crisis in Tibet at a news conference early today.

Organisers of the Seeds of Compassion say the event is essentially non-political, but references to Tibet have been sprinkled throughout the first two days.

"Twentieth century become like century of bloodshed. I think it is our own responsibility to make this century be century of dialogue," the Dalai Lama said.

Recent protests in Tibet against five decades of Chinese rule have been the largest and most sustained in almost two decades and have fuelled protests that have disrupted the global torch relay for this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.

China has accused the Dalai Lama of being involved in the uprising. He has said that he wants greater autonomy for the remote mountain region but is not seeking independence. 
Source : PTI