Dalai Lama marks Nobel prize anniversary

Twenty years ago to the day, exiled spiritual and political Tibetan leader the Dalai
Lama was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his long campaign to end China's domination
of his homeland.
Now aged 74, he shows no signs of stopping.

The Dalai's cause goes much further than Tibet, expressing concern for the peoples
of Africa and indigenous Australians.
On regular worldwide tours he teaches compassion, cross-religious understanding and
respect for the environment.
At a Nobel Peace Prize anniversary breakfast in Melbourne attended by hundreds of
supporters the Dalai said he recognised the continued discrimination of Aboriginal
people.
But building confidence in communities can improve their situations, the Dalai advised.
"Education - it's very essential," he said on Thursday, at the end of an 11-day tour
of Australia and New Zealand.
He urged indigenous people to put their language into writing and preserve their
culture.
On the question of the West donating money to alleviate poverty, he said the gap
between rich and poor must be addressed but education remained the key to tackling
poverty.
The Dalai's calls were echoed by Professor Larissa Behrendt, an indigenous Eualeyai/
Kamillaroi woman who lectures in law at the University of Technology in Sydney.
She said real justice for indigenous Australians could be achieved by protection of
identity and inclusion of human rights in the Australian Constitution.
But hanging indigenous art in homes or watching athlete Cathy Freeman win Olympic
gold did little for sustaining indigenous cultures, she said.
The intervention in the Northern Territory had failed to improve the health of
indigenous people, with a reported rise in child malnutrition, alcohol and substance
abuse, domestic violence and suicide rates, she said.
The quarantining of welfare income had also breached fundamental human rights.
"One myth is that governments can provide policies that either protect women and
children or protect against racial discrimination," Professor Behrendt said.
The best way to lessen disparity between indigenous and white communities is to
include Aboriginal people in policy-making and allow them to help themselves, she
emphasised.