South Africa has denied the Dalai Lama a visa to attend an international peace conference in Johannesburg, CNN reports. A presidential spokesperson said the Dalai Lama's attendance was not in the interests of the nation, claiming it would be a distraction from the 2010 World Cup and would alienate South Africa's relationship with China.
Archbishop Desmund Tutu and F.W. De Klerk have announced they are likely to boycott if the decision is not reversed.
Sort of a week kneed decision. Canada has a major trading relationship with China and yet this past October, our Prime Minister, Harper met with the Dalai Lama in his office in Ottawa.
ReplyDeleteCanada-Sino relations were not particularly warm to begin with, but other than a forceful statement by the Chinese, not much more came of the meeting.
Perhaps South Africa has more to lose than Canada did.
Nobel peace prize committee will not participate in conference if South Africa denies Dalai Lama visa
ReplyDeletesee: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-03-23-nobel-boycott-of-peace-meet-after-dalai-lama-denied-visa
They want to host an international peace conference, but won't allow the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner to attend?
ReplyDeleteWTF. I hope the scheduled attendees boycott and put together an ad hoc conference somewhere that will welcome the Dalai Lama.
Er,you know the dali lama represemts fudalism and repression in old tibet,right?
ReplyDeleteMore here: http://www.mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=586331
he's actually pretty corrupt
Hi Jenny!For an excellent article that addresses this commonly circulated misinformation go to: http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=425
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if Jenny's ever found a third-rate internationalist conspiracy theory she hasn't bit into with full force.
ReplyDeleteWhat's amusing is that article is a classic case of innuendo without any actual meat to it. "Plenty of rumours"; funding by the US (how scandalous!), vague accusations of mislaid expenditures, even (gasp!) lack of vegetarianism! Oh, I repent and recant. Chinese dictatorship is clearly superior to this charlatan.
the dalai lama did confirm the CIA collaboration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Dalai_Lama#CIA_backing
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, I amazingly still don't care. I'm not surprised that in the Cold War, the US funded someone who was opposing a Cold War enemy. Indeed, we should be glad it wasn't the normal assortment of dictator-wannabes. Guilt by innuendo and association doesn't impress me.
ReplyDelete