New Delhi - Eight Nobel peace laureates Tuesday expressed support to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for his non-violent struggle for "meaningful autonomy," according to a statement posted on the Tibetan government-in-exile's website. The statement was handed over to the Dalai Lama by three of the laureates - Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Maguire - in a public ceremony in Dharamsala, where the Tibetan leader lives in exile.
The other signatories were Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Adolfo Perez Equivel, Betty Williams and Wangari Maathai.
The statement said for 50 years, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people had waged a peaceful struggle to preserve their ancient culture, religion, language and identity amid great adversity.
"As the issue of Tibet remains tragically unresolved and Tibetans continued to endure harsh and repressive conditions in Tibet, we, as Nobel Peace Laureates, wish to express our grave concern about the survival of the Tibetan identity and offer our support to His Holiness for his non-violent efforts to attain meaningful autonomy for the Tibetan people."
"We urge the Chinese government to take immediate and constructive steps to resolve the status of Tibet and end the oppressive policies that continue to marginalise and impoverish Tibetans in their own land," the statement added.
The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after the Chinese occupation of Tibet, advocates a policy that seeks greater autonomy for Tibetans within China rather than complete independence.
Several rounds of talks between the Dalai Lama's representatives and Chinese government officials have not led to much progress with the latter claiming the Tibetan leader encourages separatists.
A total of 140,000 Tibetans live in exile, of whom more than 100,000 reside in India. Over six million Tibetans live in Tibet.
