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South Africa Bars Dalai Lama From Peace Conference

Kandahar

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South Africa bars Dalai Lama from peace conference

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg this week, hoping to keep good relations with trading partner China but instead generating a storm of criticism.

Friday's peace conference was organized by South African soccer officials to highlight the first World Cup to be held in Africa, which South Africa will host in 2010.

But because the Dalai Lama isn't being allowed to attend, it is now being boycotted by fellow Nobel Peace prize winners retired Cape Town Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former president F.W. de Klerk as well as members of the Nobel Committee.

This is disgusting, but unfortunately it's not very surprising. South Africa is going down the same road that Russia went down in the first part of this decade. Their leadership does not seem particularly committed to democracy. First making excuses for Mugabe, and now this.
 
I find this quite ironic, coming from South Africa.

And yes, they have a very immature democracy. It won't happen, but it'd be nice to see the ANC get squashed in the upcoming elections.
 
I heard that Tutu was going to boycott the conference because of the exclusion of the Dalai Lama (though I am sketchy on the details)

The thugs in Beiping are pressing the offensive against the international space of the Dalai Lama. Our own pro-China president has also said that he is now welcome here in Taiwan. Shame, shame, shame.
 
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