AP
Feb. 18: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama gestures as he addresses the Mumbai University students in Mumbai, India.
DHARMSALA, India -- The Dalai Lama said Thursday that he will give up his political role in the Tibetan government-in-exile and shift that power to an elected representative, as the 76-year-old Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader struggles with growing worries about who will succeed him when he dies.
Speaking on the anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule in his Himalayan homeland that sent him into exile, the Dalai Lama said the time had come "to devolve my formal authority to the elected leader."
While he has long said that he wants the exile government to take on some of his powers, Thursday's announcement appeared to mark the beginning of a countdown. The Dalai Lama said he would propose amendments to the exile constitution during the parliament's next session, which begins March 14 in this Indian hill town where the exiles are based.
A new prime minister will be elected a few days later, and the timing indicates the Dalai Lama may want that premier to take up his political duties. Any Tibetan who has registered with the government-in-exile is allowed to cast a ballot; most of the electorate is made up of exiles.
The Dalai Lama is believed to be in fairly good health, but China's continued heavy-handed rule over Tibet has made the succession question all important within the Tibetan community.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/10/dalai-lama-says-hell-political-role/#ixzz1GCTVwxl8
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