US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday urged all parties to refrain from violence in Tibet during a Chinese crackdown on unrest there.
"I hope that China would exercise restraint but it is also important that all parties refrain from violence," Rice told reporters when asked about Tibet as she sat down for talks with Thailand's foreign minister Noppadon Pattama.
Rice recalled that in her phone conversation Wednesday night with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi she also pressed the Chinese government to open a dialogue with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
"I urged restraint and most importantly we have urged for many years that China engage in a dialogue with the Dalai Lama who represents an authoritative figure who stands against violence and who also stands for the cultural autonomy of the Tibetan people but made very clear that he does not stand for independence," Rice said.
"And I believe that this would be a basis on which China could reach out to an authoritative figure for peace and so we are encouraging that," Rice said.
