Chinese media: Tibet protests have spread

'Don't commit violence'
China accuses the Dalai Lama of masterminding the protests from his base in the Indian town of Dharamsala, where he lives in exile.

The Nobel Peace laureate's government-in-exile called for an end to the violence in Tibetan regions on Tuesday, offering to step down as the head of Tibet's exiled state if that would stop the bloodshed.

“I say to China and the Tibetans — don’t commit violence,” he told reporters. He suggested the Chinese themselves may have had a hand in it to discredit him.

“It’s possible some Chinese agents are involved there,” he said. “Sometimes totalitarian regimes are very clever, so it is important to investigate.”

He said that “if things become out of control,” his “only option is to completely resign.”

Later, one of his top aides clarified the Dalai Lama’s comments.

“If the Tibetans were to choose the path of violence, he would have to resign because he is completely committed to nonviolence,” Tenzin Taklha said. “He would resign as the political leader and head of state, but not as the Dalai Lama. He will always be the Dalai Lama.”

China's official media called Dharamsala an "epicenter of lies," repeating Premier Wen's assertion that the unrest was "organized, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique."

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