15 August 2008 - 02H56
France's Bernard Kouchner to meet Dalai Lama
France's foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, is expected to meet the Dalai Lama next week, according to a close aide of the exiled Tibetan leader said. The meeting could draw an angry reaction from China.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will meet the Dalai Lama next week, according to a close aide of the Tibetan spiritual leader, at the risk of drawing an angry reaction from China.
The Dalai Lama's aide Mathieu Ricard told journalists the meeting -- which was not officially confirmed by the French government -- would take place on August 20, next Wednesday, in the western French city of Nantes.
"Bernard Kouchner has expressed his wish to meet him. He telephoned us yesterday evening. There will be a meeting," said Ricard.
Up until now, no meetings with French government ministers have been planned during the exiled Tibetan leader's 12-day visit, which began Monday.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of snubbing the Dalai Lama to avoid provoking China during the Olympic Games, although the entourage of the Buddhist leader said he had not sought to see the president.
A French minister said Sarkozy would host the Tibetan spiritual guide at a ceremony for Nobel peace laureates in Paris in December.
During a visit to a Buddhist center in the northwest French city of Plouray Thursday, the Dalai Lama raised the alarm on Tibet.
He told a crowd of several thousand of his followers, some waving Tibetan flags, that the events now taking place in Tibet fundamentally threatened the culture, heritage and the Tibetan nation.
Earlier, the Tibetan leader delivered a speech on peace at another Buddhist centre in Normandy, northwest France, and met with religious and political authorities in the nearby Morbihan district of nearby Brittany.
Sarkozy is sending his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy to see the Dalai Lama inaugurate a temple in southern France on August 22, the day before the Buddhist leader wraps up his visit.
Rama Yade, a junior minister in Kouchner's cabinet and outspoken critic of China's policies in Tibet following its crackdown on unrest there in March, said Thursday she would be "very happy to meet" the Nobel laureate.
She said her office was trying to "find the best moment" for a meeting.
Ricard said he was not aware of any meeting between Yade and the Tibetan spiritual leader for the time being.
France is struggling to mend ties with China frayed by Sarkozy's initial threat to boycott the opening of the Beijing Games, together with pro-Tibet protests during the passage of the Olympic flame through Paris.
China had warned Sarkozy that a meeting with the Dalai Lama would have "consequences" for bilateral ties.
Beijing on Thursday repeated its call for France to carefully handle the "sensitive" issue of Tibet.
"China's position on the Tibetan issue is consistent and clear," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"We hope France will pay attention to China's concerns (and) carefully handle the related important and sensitive issue," it said.
"(France should) make efforts with China to avoid any disturbances that could arise and ensure the healthy and stable development of Sino-French relations."
During private talks with French lawmakers on Wednesday -- so far the main political encounter of his visit -- the Dalai Lama was quoted as accusing China of pursuing a crackdown in Tibet in spite of the Olympic Games.
He described "arbitrary arrests, summary executions and torture to the death" and a "very strong reinforcement of the military and police presence across historic Tibet," according to a statement issued later by the Senate.
The Dalai Lama also claimed that China was planning to send a million mainland Chinese nationals to settle in Tibet after the end of the Beijing Olympics, the statement added.
Related Content
China scaring kids away from fast food chains
Stay tuned
Comments
it's not a reasonable action
As a student in China, i think i would talk something about the tibet.
Alough i am not the tibeten, there are too many classmates who are tibeten in my class.
It never occurred to me when the relationship between China and France became drastic i would be so sad about the action of president of France .
So many people in the Western see the tibeten in China as someone lose freedom, lose happiness and lose the politic right in country to some extent to as slavery of the majority.
Please ask youselves seriouly, have you ever been to China before you say the drawback in China ? Have you ever been to Tibet before you support DaLAI whose action detrimental to all tibeten and all chinese?
You have too many things could do if you want to someting really for the benefit of tibeten. Maybe you should go to tibet by yourself to sample the flourish in tibet and the happiness of tibeten.
Only in this way are our words really.
I hope the relationships between China and France are in hamonious.
Dalai Lama mixed facts and reality as a man in his meditation
You are scared of truth! who are you? why you are censor my comments just in mimunts? Are you going to black-listed all people who are appaled by your article or does not like your Facist idea?
I have followed those spritul leaders over 20 years, now I can say, just like the Founder of the Free-Tibet in the UK, we were all cheated by those who hate a untied and strong China! Tibetan people nevr ever lived in better life as today in China! Dalai Lama is a political leader with personal purpose- he does not like the old slaves live in a better and freeer life , but want to poison them with those meditations!
Dalai Lama mixed facts and reality as a man in his meditation
Dalai lama is old really, the truth is, every spritual leader in Tibetan tradition should resign as the linage leader. Dalai Lama begai to show he is a racist himself in the talks with the western leaders and journalists! why our journalists kept the blind eye on all the evidence that the Tibetan are now have much better life than before1959? where are the conscience and courage of our western journalists and historians?
I and my friend have written some comments after this article since last 24 hours, they are all disappeared！
It is terriable that we have behaved just like what we attacked!
You have censored all unfavourable comments!
Where are the evidence of what Dalai claimed? Do you have any ground to say there is killing at yeasterday in Tibet? Don't fool people like to fool a child, we are fed up with your lies!
Dalai Lama is old and talked like an old man without any respossiblity, I was so disappointed by his speech in London at June， his talks always have been on romours and guess, he has no ideas what Tibetan lived
now, he still thought that the ordinary Tibetans areliving in poverty and dirty, I want tell your holyess that almost every one in Tibet have a large house and many horses! Every one is washing themselves every day if they wanted, not like 50 years ago, they only wash twice in their life time: when the are born and when they are or married or Die! No any one will thought that Tibetan is SMELLY, may be only by the people like you, the holy monks living in luxury will think the are dirty. Han and Zhang people are blood related brothers, they never will killing each other!