Dalai Lama to submit proposal to step down as leader

Dalai Lama to submit proposal to step down as leader

2011-03-10 11:39:05 GMT+7 (ICT)

LHASA (BNO NEWS) -- Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama on Thursday announced he will formally propose necessary amendments to the Charter for Tibetans in Exile in order to resign, saying Tibetans need an elected leader.

"One of the aspirations I have cherished since childhood is the reform of Tibet's political and social structure, and in the few years when I held effective power in Tibet, I managed to make some fundamental changes," the 14th Dalai Lama said on the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day.

The Dalai Lama said the time has come to devolve power to a freely elected leader. "During the forthcoming eleventh session of the fourteenth Tibetan Parliament in Exile, which begins on 14th March, I will formally propose that the necessary amendments be made to the Charter for Tibetans in Exile, reflecting my decision to devolve my formal authority to the elected leader," he said.

State-run media in China did not immediately report the announcement.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-10