Using stronger words than he usually does, the Dalai Lama accused Beijing of persecuting monastics in Chinese-occupied Tibet:
“They are putting the monks and nuns in prison-like conditions, depriving them the opportunity to study and practice in peace,” he said, accusing Chinese of working to “deliberately annihilate Buddhism.”
The Dalai Lama’s remarks reflect frequent complaints by Tibetan monks that required political study sessions and visitor demands are depriving them of time for religious study. The numbers of monks attaining higher Buddhist degrees are believed to have fallen drastically since the crushing of the 1959 rebellion that resulted in direct rule from Beijing and the imposition of heavy government control over monasteries.
As he has in the past, he also expressed pessimism that China would ever agree to conditions satisfactory to Tibetans.