Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has arrived in Australia for a five-day visit, as his supporters urged China to meet his envoys.
The Dalai Lama will deliver a series of lectures and meet Immigration Minister Chris Evans, acting head of government while leader Kevin Rudd is in Japan.
The meeting, likely to anger China, reflected the Dalai Lama's status as a religious leader, the government said.
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Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of orchestrating recent unrest in Tibet and the subsequent protests over human rights, which dogged international legs of the Olympic torch relay.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner has repeatedly denied any role in the violent protests which erupted in March in and around Tibet.
'Delaying tactics'
Some human rights groups have criticised Mr Rudd for failing to meet the Dalai Lama.
He will instead meet Mr Evans in Sydney on Friday, an official said.
"This reflects the Dalai Lama's status as an international religious leader and the significant domestic interest in the Dalai Lama's visit, including from the Tibetan immigrant community in Australia," a government spokesperson said.
The Australia Tibet Council said it had urged the government to use the meeting to persuade China to hold talks with the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Early in May, in what was seen as a concession to international pressure, Chinese officials held talks with two envoys of the Dalai Lama.
But a second round of talks set for this week was postponed following the devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province.
"With less than two months remaining before the Olympics, the Australia Tibet Council fears that the Chinese government believes that it can use delaying tactics to avoid addressing the Tibet issue," chief executive officer Paul Bourke said.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi said further talks between the two sides were conditional.
"We maintain that the Dalai Lama's side must halt the separatist activity, ending violent acts of destruction against China, halt its activity to ruin the Olympics, (thereby) creating the conditions for further meetings," he said.
(BBC)
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