Ottawa — Canadians should heed the Dalai Lama’s reverence for such basic human values as compassion and justice especially after recent racist attacks here, says Prime Minister Paul Martin.
He praised the Dalai Lama after a brief but historic meeting Friday with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. They talked about human rights but didn’t delve into the more controversial issue of Tibetan autonomy within China.
Human rights in Tibet and in general were discussed, said Mr. Martin, the first Canadian prime minister to meet with the Dalai Lama.
“And there is one other topic that I raised which I also think is very important and that is: given some of the events that have taken place in Canada in the course of the last couple of months — the arson at a mosque, the problem at a school in Montreal, the desecration of graves,” Mr. Martin said.
“I think the Dalai Lama’s message to Canada is very, very important. We have always been a nation of great mutual respect and understanding.
“And I think for the Dalai Lama to come here and remind us of that basic human value is very, very important.”
In some of the most recent racist incidents to grab national headlines, a Jewish school in Montreal was deliberately set on fire earlier this month.
Other anti-Semitic violence has been reported in parts of Ontario this year with cemeteries, neighbourhoods and synagogues targeted.
And last month the Al-Mahdi Islamic Centre in Pickering, near Toronto, was attacked.
The Dalai Lama said little as he left the session which opened with a prayer meeting and included about two dozen other religious and civic leaders.
“Great, great!,” he said as he left the get-together in the home of Most Rev. Marcel Gervais, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa.
The Dalai Lama greeted Mr. Martin, Archbishop Gervais and Ottawa’s Mayor Bob Chiarelli by draping filmy white khatas — religious scarves — around each of the three men’s necks.
Other Tibetan Canadians said the meeting — which China condemned — was an important step towards autonomy for Tibet even if the topic wasn’t specifically raised.
“I think we made very good headway, just in the fact we even had this meeting,” said Tenzin Dargyal, a spokesman for the Canada Tibet Committee.
“We want Canada to act as a peacemaker. For that to happen, this meeting is very important as a first step.”
Supporters of the Dalai Lama hope Canada will help reignite talks between the exiled spiritual leader and Beijing on Tibet’s future.
The prime minister’s officials billed the meeting as spiritual rather than political to avoid offending Beijing, which calls the Dalai Lama a separatist.
Yet the 68-year-old Tibetan monk — a popular figure in his flowing robes and square spectacles — consistently says he’s not seeking independence.
Rather, he says he wants cultural and religious autonomy for Tibet within a thriving China.
That would enhance peace and stability in the region, he told a conference earlier Friday.
“This approach is helping to build China — more stability, more unity and on that basis, more prosperity,” said the Dalai Lama, who is scheduled to deliver a major public speech Saturday before heading to Toronto.
“Your helping us is a great contribution to the future development of the People’s Republic of China.”
China’s insecurity in the region has led to environmentally reckless over-development and a massive military presence, he added.
Massive watersheds are being damaged, hurting rivers that flow out of the Himalayas through much of Asia.
Canada is in a unique position to help push for change because it has a good relationship with China, the Dalai Lama said earlier.
“I think Canada is better positioned to influence our Chinese brothers and sisters.”
Since landing in Vancouver a week ago for a 19-day visit, the Dalai Lama has consistently called for greater understanding between religious faiths and better protection of human rights.
He insists that politics aren’t a high priority — but admits it intertwines all his other goals.
“My visit, generally speaking (is) non-political,” he said Thursday.
But it is his duty to explain the Tibetan situation and that country’s relationship with China, he added.
“So that part, maybe (has) some political implication,” said the Dalai Lama, whose remarks are frequently punctuated by self-deprecating jokes and a distinctive giggle.
The Dalai Lama has lived much of his life in exile in India. He fled there in 1959 following a failed uprising against China which has occupied Tibet since 1951.
From exile, he has lobbied not for independence, but rather for Tibet to become an autonomous region with cultural and religious freedom.
