Dalai Lama would resign if Tibet violence worsens

SEATTLE (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama said on Sunday he would resign as leader of Tibet's exiled government if violence in his homeland spreads out of control.

"If violence becomes out of control then my only option is to resign," the Buddhist spiritual leader said at a news conference. "If the majority of people commit violence, then I resign."

The Chinese government has accused the Dalai Lama of orchestrating last month's deadly riots in the Tibetan capital Lhasa and unrest that followed in other ethnic Tibetan areas, as part of a bid for independence and to ruin the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing.

The Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959, would retain his post as spiritual leader of Tibet if he were to step down as the head of state, a threat he also made last month.

The 72-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama at the age of 2. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of the patron saint of Tibet, according to the Dalai Lama's Web site.

China's official Xinhua news agency earlier on Sunday denounced the Dalai Lama as a sham. China has gone on the offensive in the face of mounting international criticism of its handling of the riots, wider unrest and a subsequent crackdown in the run-up to the Olympics.

The Dalai Lama said he supported the games and he was saddened by recent anti-Chinese protests that marred the traditional torch relay through the streets of London, Paris and San Francisco.

He reiterated comments that he was not pushing for a separate state, saying that Tibet should be "a happy citizen" of China.

(Reporting by Laura Myers, editing by Dean Goodman and Eric Beech)