China recently lifted a 17-year ban on displaying photographs of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, at the Gaden monastery, one of the three most prominent monasteries in Tibet, but Tibetans remain skeptical about the policy change.
"Tibetans' reverence for and loyalty to the Dalai Lama has almost no equal among the world's communities and if this policy is extended beyond this individual monastery, as other reports suggest, it will be very significant for the Tibetan people," said London based Free Tibet.
"Since many Tibetans call for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile and revere him highly, Beijing miscalculates that lifting the ban on Dalai Lama could silence the Tibetans," said Lukar Jam, a researcher and deputy director of Gu Chu Sum, an ex-political prisoners' organization in India.
The decision to lift the ban on Dalai Lama's photographs comes at a time when the U.S. Ambassador to China is in the capital city of Tibet where the monastery is located.
"It could be a show case for the U.S. envoy's visit but I don't think that's the only reason. Beijing might have other intentions as well," Lukar Jam told Head Lines and Global News.
The U.S. envoy, whose three-day trip to Lhasa ends on Friday, is accompanied by his family members and embassy staff, according to various reports.
Chinese authorities in two of the Tibetan-populated areas of Qinghai and Sichuan provinces have also permitted Tibetans to publicly display the photograph of the Tibetan spiritual leader, according to the Radio Free Asia.
In recent months, more than one hundred Tibetans have set themselves on fire in protest against the Beijing government, calling for freedom in Tibet and return of the Dalai Lama.
However, till date Beijing has been constantly accusing the Dalai Lama and his government in exile for inciting the chain of self-immolations that took place almost all over the Himalayan region.
