DHAKA: Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama marked the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing on Wednesday by urging China to embrace democracy and offering prayers for the protest ‘martyrs’.

The Dalai Lama, reviled by Beijing as a separatist, made the rare comments on the June 4, 1989, violence at a prayer meeting two years after he renounced politics.

‘I offer my prayers for those who died for freedom, democracy and human rights,’ the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner said according to a statement that was released by Initiatives for China, a Washington-based group that campaigns for a peaceful transition to democracy in China.

‘While great progress has been made to integrate into the world economy, I believe it is equally important to encourage China to enter the mainstream of global democracy,’ he added, reports The Straits Times.

‘In this anniversary of China’s young martyrs, let us pray that the Chinese leaders of today would turn their hearts away from fear and defensiveness, that they would reach out to the victims and victims’ families, and repent of the massacre of China’s youth.’

BDST: 1526 HRS, JUNE 04, 2014