Rice urges China to listen to Dalai Lama on Tibet

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during a news conference in Moscow March 18, 2008.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday urged the Chinese government to pursue a more "sustainable" policy toward Tibet and said the only way to do this was for it to talk to the Dalai Lama.

"We believe that the answer for Tibet is to have a more sustainable policy for the Chinese government concerning Tibet." Rice told reporters at a news conference with India's external affairs minister.

"We are going to continue to encourage that dialogue because ultimately that is going to be the only policy that is sustainable in Tibet," she said.

China alleges the exiled Dalai Lama was conspiring to wreck the Beijing Olympic Games this summer and masterminded the wave of protests that began with peaceful rallies in Tibet's capital Lhasa on March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Five days later, the marches erupted into a riot in Lhasa in which China says 19 were killed. The Tibetan government-in-exile in India raised its death toll in the clashes to 130 on Monday. China has barred foreign journalists from Tibet and surrounding areas, making independent verification difficult.

Rice repeated her call for restraint and for all sides to avoid violence.

"There also needs to be a day after the current events and that really requires a sustainable process of dealing with the problems (in) Tibet, the grievances of Tibetans, and we believe that the Dalai Lama could play a very favorable role given his belief in nonviolence, given his stated position that he does not seek political independence for Tibet and given his unassailable ... moral stature," Rice said.

"At this particular point in time, to have contact (with him) I think is a good thing, not a bad thing, because he is a moderate voice on these issues and he is a voice that frankly I hope the Chinese will listen to more," Rice added.

(Writing by Arshad Mohammed, editing by Sandra Maler)