 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Dalai Lama urges pressure over Tibet 'oppression'
The Hague (AFP) June 5, 2009 Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, urged the international community Friday to make an independent assessment of the situation in the region and put pressure on China to end the "oppression". "Please, international community, judge whether there is a problem or not. Go there and investigate," he told members of the Dutch parliament on the final day of a three-day visit. "In the case the majority of people genuinely are happy, then our information is wrong ... and we will have to apologise to the Chinese government. "If, on the other hand, there is real resentment to China's ... oppression, then tell the Chinese government they should accept the reality and should start a realistic approach. Force is not a solution." The 73-year-old exiled Buddhist spiritual leader told MPs his faith in the Chinese government was growing "thinner" with all efforts at negotiation having failed. Tibet's future, he stressed, lay within the People's Republic of China but with cultural and religious autonomy. "We are not seeking separation," he said, dismissing Chinese claims he was seeking the establishment of a greater, independent Tibet. The 14th Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel peace prize, stressed he was on a mission to promote religious harmony and would not be drawn on Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's decision not to receive him. "That is your business," he told parliamentarians. "I have no political agenda. I do not want to create any inconvenience." Beijing had warned Tuesday that countries receiving the Dalai Lama on his European tour will "severely damage" relations with China. The Dalai Lama nevertheless met Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen on Friday morning, not at his ministry but as part of an "inter-faith dialogue" in The Hague between the minister and leaders of religious communities. Living in exile in India since 1959, the Dalai Lama was due to open a concert in Amsterdam, entitled "Night of Tibet", on Friday evening before departing for France. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
Media silence in China on TiananmenBeijing (AFP) June 5, 2009 China's press and Internet sites were silent Friday over the 20th anniversary of the army crackdown on pro-democracy protests in and around Tiananmen Square. There was a huge security clampdown on the square Thursday, 20 years after the events of June 4, 1989 in an attempt by authorities to prevent any commemoration of the bloody clampdown that left hundreds and perhaps thousands dead. O ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook