| The Dalai Lama said he was committed to non-violence and denied allegations he was behind the unrest in Tibet that left many dead last week. |
| "If things get out of control, resignation is the only option," he said in this northern Indian hill town, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile. |
| "The movement in Tibet is beyond our control," he said. He said he was not in a position to tell the Tibetan protesters living under Chinese rule "to do this or do not do that." |
| The Dalai Lama, 73, said the Chinese were free to come to Dharamsala and investigate his speeches and other documents to find out if he had a hand in the protests. |
| The Dalai Lama had also threatened to resign in 1987 when anti-China violence erupted in Tibet. "I was asked by reporters in this very room (in his temple) and I said I would resign. Even today, my position is the same," he said. |
| Top officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile are downplaying the resignation threat saying, "His holiness in committed to complete non-violence and is urging the protesters not to resort to violence." |
| The response comes hours after Chinese premier Wen Jiabao accused him of inciting violence in Tibet. Wen dismissed the Dalai Lama's allegation that China was committing cultural genocide in Tibet as "lies". Wen said the violence in Tibet had been incited to undermine the Beijing Olympic games. |
| The Anti-China protests began in Lhasa on March 10, the 49th anniversary of the uprising day. |
| While Chinese say 13 people have died in the violence, the Tibetan government-in-exile says at least 80 Tibetans have been killed. |
| China's threat to the Tibetans protesters to surrender ended Monday midnight (Tibetan time) even as the protests spread to the neighbouring provinces, reports said. |
| The Dalai Lama fled Tibet 1959 after a failed coup against the Chinese communist regime. |
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