Meet the Dalai Lama: “no we can’t”
Here is the kind of “change we can believe in” that epitomises the Obama administration’s “audacity of hope”.
For the first time since 1991, the Dalai Lama has visited Washington DC without being greeted by the US President.
Some supporters of the Dalai Lama were outraged by Obama’s decision, fearing that China could interpret it as carte blanche to clamp down on dissent in the Himalayan territory.
“This is a strategic snub that sends the wrong message to Beijing and to China’s religious communities and rights activists,” said Leonard Leo, chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a non-partisan government panel.
“Tibetans are being harassed, tortured and jailed right now for simple devotion to the Dalai Lama,” he said.
“President Obama should demonstrate his unwavering support for those seeking to establish the rule of law, religious freedom or other human rights in China – he can start by meeting with the Dalai Lama as soon as possible and speaking out forcefully during his November trip to China,” he said.
Is President Obama a coward?
When it comes to having the courage to meet the Dalai Lama it looks like being a case of “No We Can’t”.
