ID :
128749
Sun, 06/20/2010 - 07:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/128749
The shortlink copeid
Dalai Lama not seeing government officials during Japan visit+
TOKYO, June 19 Kyodo - The Dalai Lama, who arrived in Japan on Friday, said Saturday he is not scheduled to meet with any Japanese government representatives during his 11-day visit through June 28.
Speaking in front of international media at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of
Japan in Tokyo, the Tibetan spiritual leader said the main purpose of his visit
is to promote nonviolence and compassion.
''I have nothing to ask or discuss with (the Japanese) government,'' the Nobel
Peace Prize laureate said, adding that meeting with members of the public is
more important to him than meeting with government leaders.
''I do not want to create any inconvenience to anybody,'' he also said.
The remark appeared to be a reference to past meetings with world leaders and
subsequent criticism from the Chinese government.
Later in the day, the Dalai Lama delivered a Buddhist sermon at Zenkoji Temple
in Nagano and attended a charity event for refugees in the central Japanese
city. He is also scheduled to travel to Kanazawa and Yokohama for spiritual
lectures on his first trip to Japan in about six months and his 14th overall,
according to his Tokyo-based liaison office.
Zenkoji drew attention in April 2008 after it declined to serve as the starting
point of the Japan leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay due to the Chinese
crackdown on Buddhists in Tibet.
The Dalai Lama sent the temple a Buddhist statue later that same year, and it
subsequently invited him to visit the temple.
On Saturday, he praised Zenkoji's decision over the torch relay and showed
gratitude for giving him an opportunity to visit the temple.
In February, the Dalai Lama met at the White House with U.S. President Barack
Obama, who urged China to protect Tibetans' cultural and religious traditions.
The meeting prompted an immediate reaction from the Chinese Foreign Ministry,
which summoned the U.S. ambassador to China to the ministry and lodged a formal
protest claiming the meeting constituted gross interference in China's internal
affairs.
Criticized by China for allegedly engaging in what it calls separatist
activities, the Dalai Lama insists he is only seeking genuine autonomy for the
Tibetan people living under Chinese rule, not outright independence for Tibet.
The spiritual leader fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against the
Chinese rule and has been leading the Tibetan government-in-exile in
Dharamsala, northern India, since then.
==Kyodo
2010-06-20 00:30:44
Speaking in front of international media at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of
Japan in Tokyo, the Tibetan spiritual leader said the main purpose of his visit
is to promote nonviolence and compassion.
''I have nothing to ask or discuss with (the Japanese) government,'' the Nobel
Peace Prize laureate said, adding that meeting with members of the public is
more important to him than meeting with government leaders.
''I do not want to create any inconvenience to anybody,'' he also said.
The remark appeared to be a reference to past meetings with world leaders and
subsequent criticism from the Chinese government.
Later in the day, the Dalai Lama delivered a Buddhist sermon at Zenkoji Temple
in Nagano and attended a charity event for refugees in the central Japanese
city. He is also scheduled to travel to Kanazawa and Yokohama for spiritual
lectures on his first trip to Japan in about six months and his 14th overall,
according to his Tokyo-based liaison office.
Zenkoji drew attention in April 2008 after it declined to serve as the starting
point of the Japan leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay due to the Chinese
crackdown on Buddhists in Tibet.
The Dalai Lama sent the temple a Buddhist statue later that same year, and it
subsequently invited him to visit the temple.
On Saturday, he praised Zenkoji's decision over the torch relay and showed
gratitude for giving him an opportunity to visit the temple.
In February, the Dalai Lama met at the White House with U.S. President Barack
Obama, who urged China to protect Tibetans' cultural and religious traditions.
The meeting prompted an immediate reaction from the Chinese Foreign Ministry,
which summoned the U.S. ambassador to China to the ministry and lodged a formal
protest claiming the meeting constituted gross interference in China's internal
affairs.
Criticized by China for allegedly engaging in what it calls separatist
activities, the Dalai Lama insists he is only seeking genuine autonomy for the
Tibetan people living under Chinese rule, not outright independence for Tibet.
The spiritual leader fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against the
Chinese rule and has been leading the Tibetan government-in-exile in
Dharamsala, northern India, since then.
==Kyodo
2010-06-20 00:30:44
