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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday offered his “good wishes” for the Olympics.

He said that they were a moment of “great pride” for the Chinese, and should promote peace.

The Beijing Games “should contribute to promoting the Olympic spirit of friendship, openness and peace,” the Nobel peace laureate said in Dharamshala, his home-in-exile in northern India.

The 73-year-old Tibetan leader repeated his support for the Games due to start Friday, ignoring opposition from his radical younger followers, who have been staging protests in the Indian capital against China hosting the Olympics.

“Right from the time of China’s application to hold the Olympic Games, I have supported China’s right to host the Games, the Dalai Lama said in a statement.

“This is a moment of great pride for the 1.3 billion Chinese people… and I would like to offer my greetings to China, the organizers and the athletes participating in the forthcoming Olympic Games,” he added.

Beijing earlier this year accused the Dalai Lama of seeking to sabotage the games and fomenting deadly unrest in Tibet against China’s rule in a bid to embarrass the Chinese government — charges the Buddhist leader denied.

Source: Agence France-Presse (www.afp.com)