Reuters BEIJING:

The mainland called on India yesterday to ``carefully and properly'' handle the case of a senior Tibetan boy-monk who received refugee status from New Delhi last week, a year after he made a dramatic escape from Tibet. ``The Indian government has clearly stated that it will not permit the Karmapa Lama to conduct anti-China activities or allow any foreign forces to use him for anti-China activities,'' the Foreign Ministry said. It called on New Delhi to ``handle this issue carefully and properly'' in the interest of overall relations and longstanding principles of non-interference and mutual respect.

The 17th Karmapa Lama - one of the highest-ranking monks in Tibet's Buddhist hierarchy - arrived in northern India in January last year after a 1,400-kilometre journey through the snow-bound Himalayas. He was 14 at the time.

The Karmapa's journey, which revived memories of the escape of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama to India in 1959, was an embarrassment for Beijing, which had sought to cultivate a top lama loyal to the Communist Party. On arrival in Dharamsala, the young monk said he had fled Tibet because Beijing had not lived up to its promises of free travel and access to Buddhist teachers.

Beijing said he had left temporarily to collect symbolic and ritual paraphernalia of his sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Tashi Wangdi, minister of religion and culture in the Tibetan government-in-exile, said on Sunday India had granted the Karmapa refugee status last week, more than a year after he made a bold escape from his homeland.

``A request was made to the Indian government last year to allow Karmapa to live in India, the request was granted and the decision conveyed to the Tibetan government last week,'' Mr Wangdi said from the exiled Tibetan government headquarters in the hill town of Dharamsala.

Indian officials have yet to comment on the decision to grant refugee status to the Karmapa.

Thousands of Tibetans led by the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, nine years after the People's Liberation Army entered Tibet and overthrew the Buddhist theocracy there. Mr Wangdi said the Karmapa was in good health and spent most of his time in religious studies and meeting pilgrims from India and abroad.
6 February 2001 / 01:56 AM