South Africa on Friday denied that it refused the Dalai Lama a visa in order to preserve relations with China ahead of a Nobel peace laureate summit planned for Cape Town, local media reported.
Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement that the Dalai Lama himself had informed the South African government that he would not attend the summit, “thus effectively cancelling his visa application,” the SAPA news agency reported.
Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille, a member of the Democratic Alliance opposition party, said Thursday the government had not granted the Dalai Lama a visa to avoid offending China and that the October 13-15 summit would be moved to another location.
Other Nobel Peace Prize laureates refused to attend the summit if the Tibetan spiritual leader was barred entry, de Lille said in a statement, adding that Rome was now being considered as an alternative location.
The annual summit would have been held in Africa for the first time.
“The perception that China dictates to South Africa on the basis of trade relations is wrong and unfounded,” said Siphosezwe Masango, chairman of a parliamentary committee on international relations.
“China is a trade partner of South Africa, as is the United States, and that should not influence who the country befriends,” SAPA quoted Masango as saying.
The alleged refusal of the government to grant the Dalai Lama a visa came under widespread criticism in South Africa, while the Tibetan spiritual leader himself accused the country of “bullying a humble person.”
South Africa’s trade with China increased by 32 per cent last year to 270 billion rand (2.4 billion dollars), according to government figures.
Between January 2003 and January 2014, South Africa recorded 38 Chinese investment projects, representing a total capital investment of 13 billion rand and creating nearly 11,000 jobs.
The Dalai Lama favours greater autonomy for Tibet, which has been under Chinese rule since 1950. China regards him as a separatist.
GNA
