Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be making a bold statement about Canada’s commitment to human rights when he meets with the Dalai Lama next month in Ottawa.
What’s important about the meeting is that it will be the first time a Canadian prime minister has met the spiritual leader of Tibet’s Buddhists in an official setting.
In the past, Ottawa’s reluctance to officially acknowledge the Dalai Lama seems to have been based purely on fears of offending China. The coming meeting has already drawn fire from China, which views the Dalai Lama as a “political exile who has long been engaged in activities aimed at splitting China under the camouflage of religion.”
China occupied Tibet in 1950 and nine years later suppressed an uprising by Tibetans who sought independence. This resulted in the Dalai Lama and 120,000 of his followers fleeing the country for what has become a lifelong exile. Religious and political freedom has been suppressed in Tibet by China’s communist leadership ever since.
During his exile, the Dalai Lama has championed individual freedoms and become one of the world’s most respected religious leaders. He has received the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the Congressional Gold Medal from the U.S. Last year, Parliament conferred an honorary Canadian citizenship on the Dalai Lama.
At the time, then-immigration minister Monte Solberg lauded the Dalai Lama for preaching a message of peace, promoting the practice of kindness and for his dedication to humanitarian work. Solberg pointed out “these are values of Canadians.”
Canadians also abhor repression and the denial of justice. When the prime minister meets with the Dalai Lama that message should be telegraphed in no uncertain terms to China.
