After meeting with Danish PM and FM, His Holiness headed to Iceland

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After meeting with Danish PM and FM, His Holiness headed to Iceland

Monday, 01 June 2009 13:40 Natalia Idźkowski, The Tibet Post International

Dharamshala: During the Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 3 day visit in Demark, he tought Buddhism based on Nagarjuna's Commentary on Bodhicitta (Jangchub Semdrel) and Karmalashila's The Middle Stages of Meditation (Gomrim Barpa), told the audience of 3,600 people who had come to hear his teachings that he does not believe in conversion and therefore never tries to convert anyone to the Buddhist faith. Hundreds of supporters bid farewell to His Holiness the Dalai Lama as he left Copenhagen for Iceland on Sunday. "As usual my visit to Denmark and to other countries is mainly spiritual and educational, not political," he told the AFP.

Last Saturday, the Chinese government released a stern statement emphasizing a tear in bilateral relations between Denmark and China following the private meeting of Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Although the spiritual leader had not been welcomed on an official state visit, the Foreign Ministry stated online that, "This has ruined the friendly, cooperative atmosphere between China and Denmark. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and protest over this." In an e-mal to Reuters, the Danish Foreign Minister wrote that, "The meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama does not change Denmark's policy or our wish to build an ever closer relationship with China." However, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman said that, "China is strongly dissatisfied with and protests over the meetings with the Dalai Lama by Danish officials. They had disregarded China's requests to keep away from the Tibetan leader, who was trying to split the country.

These meetings have severely harmed China's core interest and China-Denmark relations, and destructed friendly cooperation between China and Denmark. China is opposed to any foreign political leader meeting the Dalai Lama because it amounted to encouraging his secessionist activities" Beijing has asked Copenhagen to "take concrete actions to correct its wrongdoings on Tibet-related issues, eliminate the negative impacts and make efforts for the healthy and steady development of China-Denmark relations". Moller later denounced Beijing's reaction: "We regret China's decision, but talks with His Holiness the Dalai Lama will not change Denmark's policy of seeking stronger ties with China."

Beijing has also critisized Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe's decision to award His Holiness with honorary citizenship upon his arrival in France on 6 June 2009, which His Holiness the Dalai Lama has described as "a great honor." Despite China's accusations of separatism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that,“We are not seeking independence,”adding that he has “repeated [that] a thousand times.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will visit Reykjavik, Iceland for the first time this Sunday evening. The three-day visit was arranged by the 'Dalai Lama in Iceland' organization. Thorhalla Bjornsdottir, a spokeswoman for the organization, said on Sunday that His Holiness the Dalai Lama will meet church leaders and other religious groups and visit the Icelandic parliament. The official website of His Holiness the Dalai Lama states that, "Iceland is widely renowned as a land without arms that seeks peaceful problem solving. This is why a visit by one of the worlds leading pacifists is seen as a great opportunity for the country."

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 June 2009 10:53 )

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