'I have given up efforts to convince China'

Hinting that he was planning to retire, the Dalai Lama has said he has 'given up' on efforts to convince China to allow greater autonomy for Tibet after having led the Tibetans' struggle for half a century.

"I have been sincerely pursuing the middle way approach in dealing with China for a long time now but there hasn't been any positive response from the Chinese side," the

Tibetan temporal head said at a function in Dharamsala on Saturday ahead of the third round of talks between his envoys and Beijing.

"As far as I'm concerned I have given up," said the 73-year-old noble laureate, according to excerpts of the speech of the Tibetan monk provided by the office of Karma Cheophel, Speaker of Tibetan Parliament in-exile.

The Dalai Lama said he would now ask the Tibetan people to decide on how to take the dialogue forward.

Cheophel, who translated the speech of the Dalai Lama at the function, said, "Earlier, he (the Dalai Lama) used to say that he is semi retired but now he says he is almost completely retired."

The Dalai Lama recently underwent a gall bladder surgery in Delhi.

 The spiritual leader's spokesman Tenzin Takhla told PTI on Sunday that the Dalai Lama has called a six-day special meeting of Tibetans at Macleodganj starting November 17 to discuss other options for resolving the vexed Tibetan issue.

The meeting is being attached great importance as this is for the third occasion after 1951 and 1959 that such a conclave has been organised.

After a failed uprising against Chinese, rule the Dalai Lama had fled to India in 1959.

The special meeting would be attended by officials of the Tibetan government in-exile here, intellectuals, social workers and people from different walks of life, Takhla said.

During the deliberations, alternate options would be discussed to take forward Tibetans struggle for solution of the vexed issue in view of the fact that China was not showing any 'positive' inclination to the Dalai Lama's middle way approach.

Takhla said the next round of talks between the special envoys of the Dalai Lama and Chinese authorities is expected by the end of October. He did not specify the dates.

Two rounds of inconclusive talks have been held between the two sides this year on resolving the Tibetan issue following massive pro-Tibet protests that threatened to overshadow Beijing Olympics.

On China repeatedly accusing the Dalai Lama of 'masterminding' protests in Tibet, Takhla said it was just an 'excuse' to keep the solution of the Tibetan issue at the backburner.

Beijing could send their representatives to Dharamsala, headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile, to go through our files, speeches of the temporal head and watch our daily activities, he said.