Dalai Lama cancels Nobel summit trip after South Africa denies visa

The Dalai Lama has cancelled a trip to South Africa for a summit of Nobel Peace laureates, an aide said Thursday, reporting that Pretoria had denied him a visa in a bid to avoid angering China. The government “conveyed by phone to me they will not be able to grant the visa for the reason that it would disturb relations between China and South Africa,” Nangsa Choedon told AFP. The apparent refusal for Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, which would be the third in five years, could provoke a boycott of the 14th annual peace summit, said a spokesman for South African laureate and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

I have heard that if the Dalai Lama is not allowed into the country, other invited guests have said they will not come.

Roger Friedman, spokesman for former Archbishop Desmond Tutu

South Africa’s foreign ministry said that it had received written confirmation from the Dalai Lama’s office in India “indicating that His Holiness has cancelled his planned visit to South Africa”. Two years ago, the country’s top court found that the government had acted unlawfully by dragging its heels on a visa application by the Tibetan until it was too late. China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of covertly campaigning for Tibet’s independence, regularly uses its economic and political clout to put pressure on governments around the world to limit contact with him. China is South Africa’s biggest single trading partner, with two-way trade worth $21 billion in 2012. The Nobel summit set for October 13 through 15 in Cape Town is backed by foundations representing four South African Peace laureates—Tutu, Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk and Albert Luthuli.

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