The Dalai Lama has canceled a trip to South Africa this week, his office said yesterday, accusing authorities of deliberately failing to grant him a visa in time.
Anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu had invited the Tibetan spiritual leader, a fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner, to give an inaugural peace lecture as part of celebrations for Tutu’s 80th birthday.
“His Holiness was to depart for South Africa on October 6, 2011, but visas have not been granted yet,” a statement from the Dalai Lama’s office in India said, explaining the cancelation of the trip.
Photo: Reuters
“We are, therefore, now convinced that, for whatever reason or reasons, the South African government finds it inconvenient to issue a visa to His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” the statement said.
Pretoria denied the Dalai Lama a visa in 2009, with South Africa admitting that it feared angering China, which regards him as a “splittist,” despite his calls for autonomy rather than independence for Tibet.
The cancelation came after Tutu accused the South African government of foot-dragging over the visa application for the week-long trip.
“The only response to the letters received to date have been acknowledgments of receipt,” a statement by Tutu’s office said.
South African President Jacob Zuma on Monday said that he did not know if the Dalai Lama would be granted a visa, saying the matter was in the hands of the country’s international relations department.
Tutu’s birthday is scheduled to include a book launch tomorrow and a public church service, followed by a picnic party on his actual birthday the next day.
The following day, the Dalai Lama was scheduled to deliver a lecture.
The Buddhist monk “travels around the world to promote human values, religious harmony, world peace and compassion,” the Dalai Lama’s office in India said. “In doing so, his Holiness does not want to create any inconveniences to anyone, individuals or governments. His Holiness has thus decided to call off his upcoming visit to South Africa, and he regrets the inconveniences caused to his hosts and the large number of South African public.”
The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India since 1959.
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