Obama 'snubs' Dalai Lama meeting

Koji

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Obama 'snubs' Dalai Lama meeting



US President Barack Obama has been accused of bowing to Chinese pressure by delaying a meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Mr Obama has said he will not meet the Dalai Lama, who is currently in the US, until after visiting China in November.
But human rights activists and some US lawmakers accused Mr Obama of putting economic issues first - a move the White House denied.
China, which took over Tibet in 1950, considers the Dalai Lama a separatist.
Beijing also demands that other nations do not meet the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after Chinese troops crushed an attempted uprising.
'Wrong message'
Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican lawmaker on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement that the White House was "kowtowing" to Beijing by delaying a meeting with the spiritual leader.

The Dalai Lama has always been supportive of American engagement with China
Dalai Lama's envoy Lodi Gyari
Her words were echoed by Leonard Leo, chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, who described the Obama administration's decision as "a strategic snub".
He said it sent "the wrong message to Beijing and to China's religious communities and rights activists".
Both Washington and the Dalai Lama's envoy played down the significance of delaying the meeting.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the Dalai Lama would meet the new US co-ordinator for Tibet, Maria Otero, during his current trip.
And Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama's envoy, said the spiritual leader took "a broader and long-term perspective" that it was better to meet Mr Obama after his talks in China.
"The Dalai Lama has always been supportive of American engagement with China," Lodi Gyari said in a statement.
"Our hope is that the co-operative US-Chinese relationship that President Obama's administration seeks will create conditions that support the resolution of the legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people."
The Dalai Lama, who is 74, arrived in Washington on Monday. He will spend a week in the US capital after travelling around North America for a fortnight giving spiritual teachings.
The spiritual leader has met all serving US presidents since George Bush in 1991.
 

IBRIS

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Dalai Lama urges U.S. to address rich-poor issue

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Dalai Lama, accepting a human rights prize from a U.S. foundation Tuesday, chastised the United States for not fully addressing the economic divide between its poorest and richest citizens.

"Huge gap, rich to poor. This is unhealthy," he said. "You have to think seriously about those less-privileged people. They're also human beings."

The "real greatness of America," he said, "is your ancestors' principles," and he urged the nation to preserve those principles.

"When I think of America, I think of the idea -- concept of freedom, liberty, equality. I think these are real human values," he said.

The inaugural Lantos Human Rights Prize, presented to the 74-year-old Dalai Lama by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, honors his commitment to ending global injustice.

The Dalai Lama called the award, from the New Hampshire-based Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, "a great privilege, especially because it is named after an individual I admired deeply."

He was referring to the late Rep. Tom Lantos, D-California, whom the foundation describes as a champion of human rights during his 27 years in Congress. Lantos, who was the only Holocaust survivor in Congress, died of cancer in February 2008. His image is on the large medal.

Before presenting the award, Pelosi said people continue to be inspired by the Dalai Lama's messages of peace and nonviolence. The medal, the California Democrat said, contains the words "The rights of one are the rights of all."

"The Dalai Lama is one of the most highly honored peacemakers of our time," she added.

Tuesday's program focused largely on the work of Lantos, who co-founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus about 20 years ago.

The name of the caucus has been changed to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and part of its mission is to "promote, defend and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms in a nonpartisan manner," according to its Web site. The group is a formal entity of Congress, said Howard Berman, D-California, who was at Tuesday's event.

Also at the ceremony was Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who called Lantos "an inspiration."

"When he died we lost one of the better angels of our national conscience," McCain said.

According to the foundation, created by Lantos' daughter, Katrina Lantos Swett, the Lantos Prize is meant to focus attention on the "often unsung heroes of the human rights movement."

The foundation's Web site says the prize "will be awarded on an annual basis to the individual or organization that best exemplifies the foundation's mission, namely, to be a vital voice standing up for the values of decency, dignity, freedom and justice in every corner of the world."

The Dalai Lama is visiting Washington this week for a conference and to meet with Undersecretary for Global Affairs Maria Otero, who has just been named as President Obama's special coordinator on Tibet, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Monday.

The Dalai Lama won't meet with Obama, who instead plans to visit with him after a presidential trip next month to China, Kelly said.

The Dalai Lama and Tibet are dicey issues in Washington, since Beijing considers the Himalayan province a part of China and accuses the spiritual leader of advocating Tibetan independence. The Dalai Lama -- whose name is Tenzin Gyatso -- has repeatedly said he seeks autonomy for the region, not independence, and advocates the "middle way" of nonviolence.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951, a year after sending troops to "liberate" the region from what it said was serfdom under the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama's emissaries have held sporadic talks with Chinese officials. But the talks, encouraged by the United States and other countries, have failed to break the impasse.

In a 2007 trip to Washington, the Dalai Lama met with then-President George W. Bush, who awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Asked whether the lack of a meeting between the Dalai Lama and Obama represents a change in U.S. policy toward China or Tibet, Kelly said, "I wouldn't necessarily read ... anything into the decision beyond what it is."

"Our position regarding China is clear, that we want to engage China. We think China is an important global player. We also don't try and downplay some of the concerns that we have about China ... in the areas of human rights, religious freedom, and freedom of expression."

The Dalai Lama won a Nobel Prize for advocating peace, but he has not been allowed to return to Tibet since fleeing his homeland in 1959.

On Thursday and Friday, he is scheduled to participate in a conference called "Educating World Citizens for the 21st Century."

On Saturday he is to spend the morning teaching on "The Heart of Change: Finding Wisdom in the Modern World," an event organized by the Conservancy for Tibetan Art and Culture.

He then is slated to return to India before traveling to Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Dalai Lama urges U.S. to address rich-poor issue - CNN.com
 

johnee

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Obama is bending backwards to please China in almost all issues, and this is not good news for India! And US is always backing their 'munna' Pakistan, whenever their is a conflict of interest between India and Pakistan, which is also not good for India. So, atleast now our policy makers should wake up(specially our beloved PM) and do some tough talking to Pakistan on terror, talk to US on NPT and their munna's and China's joint record on nuclear prolifiration under the watchful eyes of US, talk to China about baseless claim of China on Tawang because China's claim on Tibet itself is dubious.
 

Martian

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Do you even consider your self a smart person or just more into creating conpiracies about someone as holy and spiritual as Dalai Lama. Using words like "snubing" is considered offensive against someone who is considered a very respectful individual.
I don't think that you understand. The title of the article, including the word "snubbing," is originally from an American newspaper. I saw it on Google News too.

"Obama is bending backwards to please China in almost all issues, and this is not good news for India!"

America's geopolitical interests come first. China is America's banker and second largest trade partner. China can help with North Korea, Iran, Somali piracy patrols, more American imports, continued Yuan appreciation, etc. What can the Dalai Lama offer that is comparable and concrete? Actions speak louder than words. Obama's actions are telling the world that China is too important.
 

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Barack Obama cancels meeting with Dalai Lama 'to keep China happy'

President Barack Obama has refused to meet the Dalai Lama in Washington this week in a move to curry favour with the Chinese.

It means Mr Obama will become the first president not to welcome the Nobel peace prize winner to the White House since the Dalai Lama began visiting Washington in 1991.

The Buddhist monk arrived in Washington on Monday for a week of meetings with Congressional leaders, celebrity supporters and interest groups, but the president will not see him until after he has made his first visit to China next month.

Samdhong Rinpoche, the Tibetan prime minister-in-exile, has accused the United States and other Western nations of "appeasement" toward China as its economic weight grows.

"Today, economic interests are much greater than other interests," he said.

Mr Obama's decision dismayed human rights and Tibetan support groups, who said he had made an unnecessary concession to the Chinese, who regard the Dalai Lama as a "splittist", despite his calls for autonomy rather than independence for Tibet. The Chinese invaded in 1950, forcing the young leader to flee.

Sophie Richardson, Asia advocate for Human Rights Watch, said: "Presidents always meets the Dalai Lama and what happens? Absolutely nothing.

"This idea that if you are nice to the Chinese Communist Party up front you can cash in later is just wrong. If you lower the bar on human rights they will just move it lower and lower."

Over several months of discussions the Tibetans resisted entreaties to delay the meeting, arguing that a refusal would make smaller countries more vulnerable to pressure from China not to meet the Dalai Lama.

But they were told by US officials they wanted to work with China on critical issues, including nuclear weapons proliferation in North Korea and Iran, according to The Washington Post. Mr Obama then sent a delegation to the Dalai Lama's home in exile in India last month that confirmed the meeting would be deferred.

Mr Obama has changed his position on Tibet since his election campaign.

In April 2008, he was joined by Hillary Clinton, then his rival for the Democratic nomination and now his Secretary of State, in calling on George W Bush to boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in protest at the bloody repression of a popular uprising in Tibet.

"If the Chinese do not take steps to help stop the genocide in Darfur and to respect the dignity, security, and human rights of the Tibetan people, then the President should boycott the opening ceremonies," they said.

Mrs Clinton has been at the forefront of a new approach, called "strategic reassurance", which seeks a more amicable partnership with the emerging power.

On her first trip to China in February she said public pressure on China over human rights was ill-advised as she "knew what the Chinese were going to say".

Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, the Washington-based special envoy to the Dalai Lama, issued a brief statement, saying: "We came to this arrangement because we believe that it is in our long-term interests."

A White House official said the administration and the Tibetans had "agreed the timing would be best after the visit".

"Both sides attach importance to a strong US-China relationship," the official said. "There are benefits in that to our goals for Tibet, as we have been working to resume discussions between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama’s representatives.”

The Tibetan leader's ten meetings with US presidents have played an important role in maintaining his international profile, even though they have never been filmed or followed by a press conference.

The exception was 2007, when George W Bush conferred the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress's highest civilian award, on the Dalai Lama in front of the cameras.

Frank Wolf, a Republican congressman and outspoken critic of China's human rights record, said: "What would a Buddhist monk or Buddhist nun in Drapchi prison think when he heard that President Obama, the president of the United States, is not going to meet with the Dalai Lama?

"It's against the law to even have a picture of the Dalai Lama. I can almost hear the words of the Chinese guards saying to them that nobody cares about you in the United States."

Ms Richardson said treating human rights as separate from other issues guaranteed failure "across the board".

"If there is no explicit agreement to stop locking up environmental activists and whistle blowers then any environmental agreement will be weakened.

"If the press in China is muzzled it won't investigate industrial safety and you will have more toxic toys coming to the United States," she said.

Barack Obama cancels meeting with Dalai Lama 'to keep China happy' - Telegraph
 

IBRIS

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Now there is a real surprise, this century’s great appeaser passing up the opportunity to signal our nation’s continued disgust with the repressive regime in China that brutally raped Tibet. Golly gee whiz Mr. Wizard, are they really a communist dictatorship that sponsors free enterprise and hold what 2/3 of our debt.

The first President to shun the Dalai Lama. Hey hippies, how’s that Hope ‘n Change?

Wonder what the Chinese will want next? Something small and easy. If Obama caves again they can play the small against the large and the fish will bite the small hook every time.
 

IBRIS

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Obama is bending backwards to please China in almost all issues, and this is not good news for India! And US is always backing their 'munna' Pakistan, whenever their is a conflict of interest between India and Pakistan, which is also not good for India. So, atleast now our policy makers should wake up(specially our beloved PM) and do some tough talking to Pakistan on terror, talk to US on NPT and their munna's and China's joint record on nuclear prolifiration under the watchful eyes of US, talk to China about baseless claim of China on Tawang because China's claim on Tibet itself is dubious.
The leader of the free world just capitulated his position in return for a few more loans. The memory of all people who have died for the freedom many of us take for granted has been soiled by his actions.
 

Martian

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The world is changing. The US financial crisis has pushed the unemployment rate close to 10%; that's deep recession territory. The US debt is reaching stratospheric levels of 12 trillion dollars. See http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

"The US federal deficit has reached 1.38 trillion US dollars with one month left for the current fiscal year, according to Treasury Department statistics released on Friday."

"At the current pace the US administration admits that the accumulated deficit from 2010 to 2019 could reach over 9 trillion US dollars. The current deficit is over 13% of GDP." See US federal budget deficit at an all time record — MercoPress

We have reached a tipping point. America's multi-trillion dollar debt and budget deficits are almost too much for this country to bear. When was the last time that you saw a headline like this:

"Harpoon III Loss A Blow To US Market Position"
"A tight budget and other problems have prompted the U.S. Navy to drop plans to purchase the Harpoon III anti-ship missile." See Harpoon III Loss A Blow To US Market Position

Did you ever imagine that the US would be too poor to upgrade to a Harpoon III? Over time, China will become an indispensable country and creditor to the United States. Money talks and the Dalai Lama will have to wait in line. Because of geopolitical reality, I will make the prediction that no future US president will meet a Dalai Lama prior to meeting the president of China. I will also make a bolder prediction that after roughly 2025, no US president will meet the Dalai Lama period; business is business.

"Top US and Chinese leaders will meet for the first US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED) with the administration of President Barack Obama in Washington July 27-28, US officials said Monday.

According to a statement released by the US State Department and Treasury Department, the first joint meeting of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue 'will focus on addressing the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global areas of immediate and long-term strategic and economic interests.'" See http://en.ce.cn/National/Politics/200907/14/t20090714_19529356.shtml

The Dalai Lama has nothing comparable to offer; besides a nice photo opportunity.
 

redragon

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As I said, people on the top never take ideology as the target, that is only a tool. And now is the time of globalization, every country should be ready for co-op and compromise any time, no one can be rigid, otherwise, it will be very difficult to get things done.

[mod]if you cant respect someone, do not attempt to demean that person.[/mod]
 

RPK

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AFP: Obama to meet Dalai Lama after China trip

WASHINGTON — The White House has said that President Barack Obama will meet the Dalai Lama later this year, rejecting accusations he "kowtowed" to China by avoiding the exiled Tibetan leader on his current visit.

Top congressional leaders offered strong support to the Dalai Lama in a ceremony at the Capitol, where they presented him with a new prize for championing human rights.

But despite lawmakers' praise and his sold-out public lectures scheduled later in the week, the trip will mark the first time since 1991 that the Dalai Lama has come to Washington without a meeting with the US president.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied that Obama, who has championed warmer ties with a growing China, had been trying not to annoy Beijing before his first visit there as president in November.

"In discussions with the Dalai Lama and his staff, we simply agreed that a meeting would be had later in the year," Gibbs told reporters.

"We're concerned about the people in Tibet, and we're concerned about the Chinese," he said.

He noted that the Dalai Lama's top negotiator, Lodi Gyari, had voiced support for Obama's approach and said that the Tibetans had not pushed for a meeting before Obama's visit to Beijing.

"They understand the stronger relationship that we have with China benefits the Tibetan people," Gibbs said.

China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and has been ramping up pressure on foreign nations not to receive the Dalai Lama.

China accuses the Dalai Lama of separatism, even though the Tibetan leader says he is only seeking greater rights for his predominantly Buddhist people under Beijing's rule.

Foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Beijing is "resolutely against the Dalai's engagement in activities aimed at splitting China under any capacity, under any name, and in any country.

"China is resolutely opposed to meetings with the Dalai Lama in any form by officials from any country," he said in a statement issued to AFP.

Some US lawmakers and Tibetan activists have voiced outrage over Obama's decision, fearing China could see it as carte blanche to clamp down in the Himalayan territory.

Republican Representative Frank Wolf, one of the most outspoken critics of China in Congress, said it was not too late for Obama to invite the Dalai Lama to the White House.

"I call on the president to reclaim the moral high ground and not kowtow to the Chinese government, a government that brutally oppresses its own people," Wolf said on the House floor.

"I call on the president to stand side by side with His Holiness -- a man of peace -- and align America once again with the oppressed, not the oppressors."

Wolf appeared with top congressional leaders as they bestowed on the Dalai Lama an inaugural human rights award named for late congressman Tom Lantos, who arranged the Tibetan leader's first trip to the Capitol in 1987.

The Dalai Lama refrained from criticism of Obama and saluted the United States for its promotion of democracy.

"I think American weapons, military forces, of course some people take seriously," he said.

"But the real greatness of America is your ancestors' principles," he said. "In any case, you must preserve these principles."

Yet he gently chided his hosts on a very different issue, saying he was alarmed by the "huge gap" between the rich and poor in a nation as wealthy as the United States.

"This is unhealthy. You have to take it seriously about those less privileged people. They're also human beings," he said.

"If they can get happier, then the whole American people will get benefit," he said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, presenting the Lantos award, called Tibet a "challenge to the conscience of the world" and urged China to look at the Dalai Lama's message of non-violence and tolerance.

"It is our hope that the Chinese government will welcome this opportunity for a peaceful resolution to the issue of Tibet," Pelosi said.
 

amitkriit

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We can now see real potential of India-USA partnership. India is alone when it comes to Indian interests, I wonder when will our leaders stop running to USA with our problems, seeking consolation.
 

ppgj

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it is natural for any country including USA to be wise to think of their national interest. it is perfectly fine if USA in its present mess thinks so. however they should shed their habit of lecturing the world on human rights, democracy, free speech. the two don't go hand in hand all the time in all the situations. it is clear they are acting under chinese pressure.
 

Ray

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama is beyond snubs of of mortals.

Who is Obama, anyway?

Where is the US? Even NK says take a hike! Pakistan is saying shove off.

So, does it matter what Obama or Osama says?

The world remains the crazy stuff it is!
 

no smoking

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it is natural for any country including USA to be wise to think of their national interest. it is perfectly fine if USA in its present mess thinks so. however they should shed their habit of lecturing the world on human rights, democracy, free speech. the two don't go hand in hand all the time in all the situations. it is clear they are acting under chinese pressure.
Well, frankly, I've never thought that USA gov took human right seriously, or maybe the same with any gov. Today, they want something from china, so the meeting was cancelled; tomorrow, there will be another meeting to be held if they need to press china.

We'll see.
 

ppgj

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Well, frankly, I've never thought that USA gov took human right seriously, or maybe the same with any gov. Today, they want something from china, so the meeting was cancelled; tomorrow, there will be another meeting to be held if they need to press china.

We'll see.
i am sure, NS, you know the regular reports the US releases about the worldwide human right excesses. infact if i am right china started hitting back at US with its own such reports.
 

johnee

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i am sure, NS, you know the regular reports the US releases about the worldwide human right excesses. infact if i am right china started hitting back at US with its own such reports.
Actually, what China has done is good. It is an idea worth exploring for India. If US' watchdogs ever try to criticize India for minority rights or religious riots, then we should release reports about racism and blacks treatment in US, if they talk about NPT's importance, then our Organisations must talk about the prolifiration business of Pakistan and China, and US' role in allowing it...etc.
 

ppgj

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Actually, what China has done is good. It is an idea worth exploring for India. If US' watchdogs ever try to criticize India for minority rights or religious riots, then we should release reports about racism and blacks treatment in US, if they talk about NPT's importance, then our Organisations must talk about the prolifiration business of Pakistan and China, and US' role in allowing it...etc.
may be in the next millenium perhaps.:smash:
 

johnee

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may be in the next millenium perhaps.:smash:
Why? We dont even have courage to talk?:roulette: We are not going to take any action on anyone anyway, why cant we atleast talk? What will happen if we say those things? What is the worst case scenario?
 

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