The US Won't Budge on Tibet ... Is Canada Our Next, Best Hope ?


Blog For Free!

Archives
Home
2004 October
2004 May
2004 April
2004 March
2004 February
2004 January

My Links
Jews for Dean
A Tribute to Paul Wellstone
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Wellstone Action!
Contemporary Philosophy, Critical Theory and Postmodern Thought
Philosophy Now
Critical Theory Resources
Social Constructivism Resources
Radical Philosophy
The Alan Watts Library
Beliefnet.Com
Centre for Religious Tolerance
Resources on Religious Tolerance
Buddha Net
Singapore Graduate School of Buddhist Studies
Buddhism Today
Center of Traditional Taoist Studies
Jesus No Republican !
Liberals Like Christ
Vatican Website
World Union for Progressive Judaism
Tikkun.Org
United Hebrew Congregation of Singapore
American Jewish Congress
United Nations
US Embassy in Singapore
Foreign Relations of the US
Foreign Relations of Singapore
Singapore-Malaysia Bilateral Relations
Tibet Independence Movement
Free Tibet Movement
Official Site of The Tibetan Government-in-Exile
Free Burma !
Democracy Now !
Democratic Socialists of USA
Democratic Underground
Green Party of the USA
Bernie Sanders' Website
Thom Hartmann's Website
Works of Noam Chomsky
Human and Constitutional Rights Resources
World Racism
International Law Resources
Library of Congress
Leftists.Org
Socialist International
Socialists.Org
World Socialist
Parliament Sessions Resources - Israel
Israeli Embassy in Singapore
Parliament Sessions Resources - Singapore
Singaporeans for Democracy
Big O Commentaries on Singapore Politics
Sintercom - Political, Economic and Social Issues in Singapore, Unmoderated
ThinkCentre.Org - Non-Partisan Analysis of Singapore Politics
Landfill - Commentaries on Singapore Politics by a Bright and Talented Local Teenager
US Congress Resources
US Institute for Policy Studies
Worker's Party Singapore
Singapore Democrats
People's Action Party Singapore
National Solidarity Party Singapore
Singapore Elections

tBlog
My Profile
Send tMail
My tFriends
My Images


Sponsored
Blog
The US Won't Budge on Tibet ... Is Canada Our Next, Best Hope ?
02.11.04 (2:31 am)   [edit]
Meet with Dalai Lama, MPs Urge Martin : PM Should Broker Peace Between China, and Exiled Leader
by Daniel Tencer, Ottawa Citizen [Tuesday, February 10, 2004 16:03]



A parliamentary committee organizing a visit to Canada by the Dalai Lama plans to formally request that Prime Minister Paul Martin meet with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. However, Chinese government officials have responded with hostility to the visit, calling it inappropriate. An official with the Chinese embassy, who requested anonymity, compared the Tibet situation with Quebec separatism.

"If somebody from Quebec went to China or (the) United States, asking the U.S. government to support Quebec independence from Canada, what would (be) your response?"

In a written statement to the Citizen, the Chinese Embassy denounced plans for the visit, and warned that "Tibetan affairs are the internal affairs of China that brook no foreign interference."

"The Dalai Lama is not simply a religious figure, but was once the biggest serf owner in old Tibet, and now a politician in exile engaged in activities aimed at splitting China and undermining national unity," the statement read.

The Montreal-based Canada-Tibet Committee is pushing for the prime minister to meet with the 68-year-old Dalai Lama who, as a leader of the Buddhist faith, has developed a large following throughout the world in the past few decades. Both British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former U.S. president Bill Clinton have met with the Dalai Lama. Former prime minister Jean Chrétien met with him in 1990, but refused to do so in 1993 for fear of jeopardizing trade relations.

Melanie Gruer, the prime minister's press secretary, said Mr. Martin had not yet decided if he would meet with the Dalai Lama. She could not say when a decision would be made. However, a representative of the Foreign Affairs Department said no official meetings were scheduled during what the representative described as a "private" visit by the Tibetan leader.

The Dalai Lama will be in Canada in April on a crosscountry tour that will take him to Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. He is to receive an honorary degree from Simon Fraser University, and is supposed to meet with parliamentarians in Ottawa.

Tenzin Dargyal, a spokesman for the Canada-Tibet Committee, described the Chinese embassy's criticism as "predictable." The committee says Mr. Martin should agree to broker a peace deal between the Dalai Lama and China, which occupied Tibetan territory in 1949. Representatives of the committee said 126 members of Parliament, including some who have become cabinet ministers, have over the years signed a letter encouraging high-level contact with the Dalai Lama.

"The prime minister says he wants to make sure we play an important role in the world and here is someone who is considered a world leader," says Liberal MP Herb Dhaliwal, the former natural resources minister who is now sitting on a parliamentary committee organizing aspects of the Dalai Lama's visit.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, one of the MPs who signed the letter encouraging contact with the Dalai Lama, has no plans to meet with the Tibetan leader, a spokesman said.

The Dalai Lama, who along with 80,000 other Tibetans has been living in exile from Tibet since 1959, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his efforts to resolve the ongoing acrimony between Tibet and the People's Republic of China.

Related Links

1. Dalai Lama Visiting Canada to Discuss Tibet and Contemporary World from SaveTibet.Org
2. Dalai Lama's Visit Shapes Up as Diplomatic Headache from Phayul.Com
3. Canada Warms Up to the Dalai Lama from World Tibet Network News
4. Dalai Lama to visit US, Canada from The Times of India
5. MP calls for Blair to Meet the Dalai Lama from The Sutton Guardian
6. Leaked Document Reveals Detailed Chinese PR Campaign Against Dalai Lama from CommonDreams.Org

Please Support
 
Your Name:


Your Comment:


Rice Bowl Journals