News Service from House Harris

ASIA: Tibetan exiles stick with 'middle way' - for now

DHARMSALA, India Nov 22 AP - Tibetan exiles have decided against pushing for independence for the Himalayan region, but for the first time in decades said they would take up that radical course if China refused to grant theirhomeland autonomy soon.

A pivotal meeting ended on Saturday with hundreds of Tibetan exile leaders from around the globe reaffirming support for the Dalai Lama's path of measured compromise - a push for autonomy called "the middle way" - but also said it was time to end talks with Beijing. The Tibetan leader plans to address the delegates on Sunday.

"Looking at the doings of China in recent times, we will not send the envoys for further contact," Dolma Gyari, deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, told reporters after the meeting.

She said that "there was a majority for the middle way" and called for the exile government to press on with that approach.

But the leaders also vowed that if moderation doesn't produce results soon,they will call for independence - a dramatic break with a decades-long conciliatory approach to Beijing.

"If China does not respond positively to our initiative, there is no other options left for us than to go for independence," Gyari said.

She did not mention a specific time frame, and took no questions.

China says Tibet has been Chinese territory for 700 years, though many Tibetans argue it was effectively independent most of that time.

Since Communist troops swept into Tibet in 1950, Chinese authorities have crushed any sign of Tibetan nationalist sentiment. An independence movement would be nearly impossible, at least in the foreseeable future, and China has long made clear it will not accept autonomy for Tibet.

The decisions by the 581 exile leaders who came to this week's meeting fromaround the world are only recommendations for the Tibetan parliament, which is to meet in March.

The Dalai Lama called the meeting in Dharmsala, the north Indian mountain town where has lived since fleeing Tibet following a failed rebellion in 1959.

AP sco =0A