Obama ignores Chinese anger, greets Dalai Lama at White House
Washington: Ignoring Chinese opposition, US President Obama met Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in the Map Room of the White House for more than an hour on Thursday. Aware that Beijing regards the meeting as an infringement of Chinese
sovereignty, Obama nevertheless met the Dalai Lama, even as a large crowd of
Tibetan supporters and smaller groups of Chinese - gathered on Pennsylvania
Avenue. According to The Times, the exiled Tibetan leader is said to have had a long
discussion on religious freedom and human rights with Obama, who he said showed
"genuine concern" for Tibet. The meeting is likely jeopardize longstanding American
efforts to secure Chinese co-operation on Iran, North Korea and climate change, but
Obama had little choice but to welcome the Dalai Lama. There was no joint press
conference or photo call after the Map Room meeting - only a written statement from
Obama's press secretary, calculated as much to mollify China as to show backing for
Tibetan autonomy. "The President stated his strong support for the preservation of
Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human
rights for Tibetans in the People's Republic of China," the statement said. For
Tibetans living under Chinese rule, the fact that the meeting took place was enough
and a matter of rejoicing. The Dalai Lama told reporters outside the White House
that he was "very happy" with the meeting. Meanwhile, in Dharamshala, the Tibetan
Government-in-exile on Friday hailed US President Barack Obama for his support
to preserve Tibetan identity and respect their human rights. Interacting with
the media here, Tibetan Minister-in-Exile for Information and International Relations
Kelsang Yangkyi Takla said: "I think they (Obama and Dalai Lama) had a very good
meeting and obviously the president has expressed very strong support for human
rights, and for the importance of preserving our culture, religion and way of
life. I think he also had expressed the importance of continuing the dialogue
with China regarding the situation in Tibet, and he also commented on His Holiness'
approach of the middle way and the non-violent efforts," he added. The Tibetan
Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), that investigates the human
rights situation in Tibet, said President Obama-the Dalai Lama meet would definitely
lead to some positive effects in the future. "It definitely instils a lot of hope
and gives lot of sustainability of the faith in the long run so we are hopeful
that it will eventually lead to some positive effect in the future," said Tenzin
Norgey, the spokesperson of TCHRD. However, Beijing has clearly not been
placated, saying it was "strongly dissatisfied" about the meeting and expected
Washington to take steps to put bilateral relations back on a healthy course. Chinese
Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu, said the meeting between Obama and the
Dalai Lama "violated the U.S. Government's repeated acceptance that Tibet is a part
of China, and it does not support Tibetan independence." After the 70-minute
meeting, the White House said President Obama "commended the Dalai Lama's ...
commitment to non-violence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese
government." President Obama encouraged China and the Dalai Lama's envoys to
keep up efforts to resolve their differences through negotiations, despite recent talks
having yielded little progress. The White House said President Obama and the Dalai
Lama also "agreed on the importance of a positive and cooperative relationship
between the United States and China."
