The Dalai Lama has again been refused entry to South Africa, this time for the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the Cape Times reported on Thursday.
The Dalai Lama’s representative in South Africa Nangsa Choedon said officials from the department of international relations had phoned her office in the past week to say the Tibetan spiritual leader would not be granted a visa. The office had yet to receive written confirmation.
“For now the Dalai Lama has decided to cancel his trip to South Africa,” Choedon was quoted as saying.
The summit, an annual gathering, is being held in Cape Town next month, with arrangements being made by a local organising committee formed by the foundations representing four South African laureates — Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk, and Albert Luthuli.
The newspaper reported that other Nobel Peace Laureates told Tutu they would not come if the Dalai Lama was not permitted to enter the country.
This is the third time in five years that the Dalai Lama could not secure a visa to enter South Africa.
The department could not confirm or deny whether the visa had been refused.
Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, who would hosting the event, had instructed city officials to write to the government to establish whether he had been denied a visa.
“We have not heard from them yet, but I will not give up hope that our government will not humiliate the Dalai Lama again,” De Lille was quoted as saying.
Source : Sapa /mar/tk/jje/jk
