His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been denied a visa by the government of South Africa to attend a peace conference in Johannesburg. So far, two other Nobel Laureates -- FW de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu -- have declared they will boycott the conference also.
Why? Writing for the Foreign Policy blog, Elizabeth Dickinson says South Africa is afraid of China. South Africa is dependent on China for trade and financing. Last year, "Nicolas Sarkozy held a highly publicized meeting with the Dalai Lama only to have Beijing cancel its planned joint EU summit and skip France on its Premier Wen Jiabao's European tour." Lesson learned.
The conference is to focus on the 2010 World Cup soccer games, to be held in South Africa. The government of South Africa says it denied the Dalai Lama's visa because his presence would take too much attention away from the games. Now it seems his absence will take too much attention away from the games.
Well, it’s more of a denial of entry, than a ban, but the effect is pretty much the same. Not only is it sad that countries are being bullied by China, but also that these countries let China control what they do in their own country. Even the US seems to watch its step on these type of things rather than standing firmly against them.
I notice how unfair Countries treat the Dalai Lama, yet if they even tried anything with the Pope like that the UN and/or the US and the European Union would end up being ignorant to them, leading to eventual downfalls to half of everything 1st world.
Hey, it’s their choice; when it comes to real importance, this does not affect our life goal.
Its embarrassing. I am a South African and have gone to see the Dalai Lama 2x when he was here. As a country we fought so hard against oppression, only to find we now kneel down to the economic stick that China holds.
Yesterday a multi-million rand deal was signed with China.
Hey, this just goes to show that South Africa isn’t so great after all. Its politics are very typical of one who will expliot religion for its own purient gains. Besides, I think it is obviously a signal to China that they will cooperate on Dalai Lama affairs as long as they can get their chosen benefits in return. Personally, I hope my President Barack Obama has taken this under special consideration. Thanks, Karen M. Krueger