Dalai Lama envoy says Obama meeting with monk probably won’t be public but is still important
By Foster Klug, APTuesday, February 16, 2010
Obama, Dalai Lama meeting probably won’t be public
WASHINGTON — The Dalai Lama’s chief envoy said Tuesday that President Barack Obama probably won’t make a public appearance this week with the Tibetan spiritual leader during a White House visit that is already infuriating China.
A joint appearance by Obama and the Dalai Lama before reporters could make tense U.S.-China ties even worse and further complicate U.S. efforts to secure Chinese help in settling North Korean and Iranian nuclear standoffs and crucial economic, military and environmental issues.
Still, Lodi Gyari said Thursday’s meeting in the White House between the Nobel Peace laureates would be an important boost for Tibet and for the broader U.S. commitment to human rights.
The Dalai Lama, who has met with every U.S. president for the last two decades, is a recurring thorn in U.S.-Chinese ties. China accuses him of pushing for Tibetan independence — something he has repeatedly denied — and considers meetings between the monk and foreign leaders to be an infringement on Chinese sovereignty.
This week’s meeting follows a tense couple of months in what the Obama administration has called the world’s most important relationship, highlighted by the recent U.S. announcement of a $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island Beijing claims as its own.
Former President George W. Bush appeared at the public presentation in 2007 of a Congressional Gold Medal Award to the Dalai Lama, but presidential meetings with the Dalai Lama have typically been held away from reporters, often in the White House’s private residences.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Tuesday that he didn’t know if Obama and the Dalai Lama would make a televised appearance after their meeting.
