Dharamshala, Mar 18: Urging his countrymen to show restraint, the Dalai Lama today threatened to step down as leader of Tibet's government-in-exile, if violence continued in his homeland. "Unless violence stops, my only option is to completely resign," he told reporters here after demonstrations turned violent in Tibet last week. The Dalai Lama refuted Chinese Government's claim that he had any role in inciting violence in Tibet and said they were welcome to investigate whether he had a hand in the violence in Tibet.

''I am in no position at all to tell Tibetan protesters living under Chinese rule to do this or not do that," he said. The spiritual leader's recent statement was flashed by the media worldwide following which one of his aides clarified his comments. ''If the Tibetans were to choose the path of violence he would have to resign because he is completely committed to nonviolence,'' his aide Tenzin Takhla said. However, the Dalai Lama would resign as the political leader and head of state, but not as the Dalai Lama. He will always be the Dalai Lama, he added.

UNI