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Dalai Lama’s Southern Russia visit against Chinese wishes |
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Thousands of Russian Buddhists converged on a monastery in Elista, capital of the Southern Russian Republic of Kalmykia, to join prayers with the visiting Dalai Lama. The Tibetan spiritual leader had been to Russia after years of being denied entry out of Moscow’s concern for its close ties with Beijing. He was given a visa to visit Kalmykia after several months of waiting. The Kalmykian President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who had invited the Dalai Lama every year since 1996 had threatened to take the Russian Government to court if it refused to admit him this time saying it was a violation of people’s religious rights. The Russian Foreign Ministry which had previously refused a visa to the Dalai Lama saying it could affect Russian-Chinese relations, cleared his visit saying there would be no meeting of the Tibetan leader with President Putin. On the eve of his visit, Russia, made it clear that his visit did not imply any recognition of the Dalai Lama’s desire for autonomy in Tibet. Yet, China expressed its anger over the visit and its Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing, said: “China opposes any country having official contacts with him. We do not condone any country allowing him to use their land to engage in separatist activities or sow discord in China’s relations with any other country”.
The Dalai Lama on his return from Kalmykia told a gathering in Bangalore that he was not for independence for Tibet, but real autonomy. Advocating a middle way approach towards the solution for Tibet, he said, Tibet was indeed a part of China and what he sought was not independence but genuine autonomy. He said it will be in the interest of Tibetans economically to remain in China provided the Chinese Government recognizes and respects the ancient rich culture and spirituality of Tibet.
He urged China to reconsider the decision to execute Buddhist leader Tulku Tenzin Delek Rimpoche, accused of bomb blasts in the Chengdu region. In India, activists of the Tibetan Youth Congress took out a procession in Dharmshala on December 2 to demand the release of Tulku Tenzin Delek Rimpoche. In their speeches leaders of the Tibetan Youth Congress said Rimpoche had been wrongly condemned, unfairly tried and unlawfully sentenced to death for the crimes he did not commit. Many Indian Parliamentarians joined the demonstration by Tibetan youth and Tibet Parliament-in-exile to protest against the alleged illegal detention of Tibetan monk Tulku Tenzin Delek. They said he was framed with false charges of causing explosions and has been denied a fair trial. In a memorandum addressed to Chinese President Hu Jintao they expressed the hope that he will adhere to the international human rights standards of which China was a signatory and release him immediately and unconditionally.
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