PARIS, Aug 25: The Dalai Lama has told China that he’s “overjoyed” that Beijing has resumed direct contacts with the Tibetan government in exile, but warned Chinese authorities that they have “at most two to three years” to come up with an accord that will give Tibet the self-determination which he has been demanding since the 1980s.

“Otherwise,” French daily Le Figaro quoted him saying in Monday’s edition, “China is going to have to deal thereafter with young Tibetans who will demand nothing less than full independence, with some of them ready to make use of violence to achieve their ends.”

Saying that his emissaries were twice received in the past year “in an extremely friendly climate,” and hoping that more such meetings will take place in the near future, the Dalai Lama said that “the Chinese know very well that since the 1980s we’ve been demanding self-determination and no longer (full) independence.”

Giving Beijing “two to three years” to come up with results, the Dalai Lama warned China that “if we have no results by that time, it will become difficult for me to explain to our youth the merits of my demand of a ‘median way.’ Still, I hope to succeed nevertheless. My message is clear, if the Chinese government respects our culture and our fundamental rights, then we will be satisfied.”

With regard to the three conditions imposed by Beijing as a preliminary to the full-scale resumption of talks, the Dalai Lama noted that “in my estimation they have been fulfilled, for in giving up our demand of independence, we have met their requirement that we publicly recognize that Tibet is an integral part of the People’s Republic of China.”

“Also,” he said, “with regard to the second condition, that Tibetans renounce all anti-Chinese activity, we’ve fulfilled that one too, limiting out political activity to protesting the violations of human rights perpetrated in Tibet by the regime in Beijing, also the persecutions and humiliations inflicted upon our people.”

As for the third condition, the recognition of Taiwan as a Chinese province, the Dalai Lama said he feels that it’s been fulfilled.