Reuters, Tokyo

Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama criticised the leaders of China yesterday saying they “don’t understand the variety of different cultures” there and there is too much control by the main Han ethnic group.

But he also said he had nothing against “Chinese brothers and sisters” as fellow humans and he broadly supported the ideas behind Communism and Marxism.

The 86-year-old Dalai Lama, taking part in an online news conference anchored in Tokyo, was answering a question about whether the international community should consider boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics over the suppression of minorities, including those in the western region of Xinjiang.

“I know Communist Party leaders since Mao Zedong. Their ideas (are) good. But sometimes they do much extreme, tight control,” he said from his base in India, adding he thought things would change in China under a new generation of leaders.

“Regarding Tibet and also Xinjiang, we have our own unique culture, so the more narrow-minded Chinese Communist leaders, they do not understand the variety of different cultures.”

Noting that China consisted not only of ethnic Han people but also other, different, groups, he added: “In reality, too much control by Han people.”

China seized control of Tibet after its troops entered the region in 1950 in what it calls a “peaceful liberation”. Tibet has since become one of the most restricted and sensitive areas in the country.

Beijing regards the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, as a dangerous “splittist” or separatist. He has worked for decades to draw global support for linguistic and cultural autonomy in his remote, mountainous homeland.