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Archbishop Desmond Tutu has condemned as "disgraceful" the decision of the South African government to refuse the Dalai Lama a visa for a peace conference meant to promote the 2010 World Cup.
The Dalai Lama was due to attend the conference in Johannesburg next week to discuss the role of soccer in combating racism and xenophobia. Participants at the conference were to include fellow Nobel laureates Nelson Mandela, Tutu and former South African President F.W. de Klerk.
Tutu and de Klerk have pulled out of the event, condemning the government for giving in to pressure from China to block the Dalai Lama's entry.
Tutu told the Sunday Independent, "We are shamelessly succumbing to Chinese pressure … I feel deeply distressed and ashamed.”
The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. He was forced to flee Tibet 50 years ago following a failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Chinese government accuses the Dalai Lama of trying to gain independence for Tibet, while he claims he only seeks greater autonomy for the region.
South Africa is the biggest trading partner of China on the African continent.
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The recent events have forced organizers of the South African Peace Conference to postpone the meeting, according to a statement Tuesday.
"Given that the purpose of the conference is peace, the conveners do not wish to put the Nobel Peace Committee under circumstances that would create conflict between the committee and its laureates. The conveners have therefore decided in a spirit of peace, to postpone the South Africa Peace Conference to ensure it is held under conducive conditions," said the chairman of the organizing committee, Irvin Khoza, according to Voice of America.
The South African government denies that pressure from China has influenced its decision to deny the Dalai Lama a visa. Instead, the government said Monday that the Dalai Lama's presence would have drawn attention away from South Africa and to the status of Tibet.
Thabo Masebe, a spokesman for the South African president, told the local Sapa news agency, “The South African government does not have a problem with the Dalai Lama.
"But at this time the whole world will be focused on the country as hosts of the 2010 World Cup. We want the focus to remain on South Africa. A visit now by the Dalai Lama would move the focus from South Africa onto issues in Tibet."
A Chinese Embassy official in Pretoria said otherwise. The official told local newspapers the Chinese government had asked South Africa to refuse the visa, as reported by VOA.
