Dalai Lama says charges he behind Tibet unrest baseless

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, said on Friday that Chinese allegations he was behind unrest in Tibet were "absolutely baseless".

China had earlier accused the Dalai Lama of acting as the "mastermind" behind protests that rocked the region on Friday.

"This is absolutely baseless and his holiness has made his stand very clear," said a spokesman for the Dalai Lama, contacted in the Indian town of Dharamsala by telephone.

"This is nothing new, China has been saying this so many times and this is actually baseless," said spokesman Chhime Chhoekyapa.

Chhoekyapa said Tibetan exiles living in Dharamsala were "shocked" by China's "strange" allegations.

"The ongoing protests have nothing to do with his holiness the Dalai Lama," he said.

As the Olympics approach, Tibetans are trying to reinvigorate their freedom movement and protest against what they see as China's illegal occupation of their homeland.

But some have distanced themselves from the politically moderate Dalai Lama, saying they want total independence and not limited autonomy.

The Dalai Lama earlier rejected a Chinese accusation that he was trying to sabotage the Olympics, saying he had always supported Beijing's right to host the Games.

The ongoing protests mark the anniversary of a 1959 uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule, which was crushed by the People's Liberation Army, driving the Dalai Lama into exile.

(Reporting by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Catherine Evans)