Dharamsala, July 16 – Switzerland will not give His Holiness the Dalai Lama an official welcome when the exiled Tibetan leader visits the country next month, the Swiss foreign ministry said today.
However, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi, will welcome the Tibetan spiritual leader, according to the foreign ministry.
Swissinfo has cited government officials indicating that some cabinet ministers will meet with the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner on an informal basis.
Society for Threatened Peoples has accused the Swiss government of succumbing to Chinese pressure – an allegation that is denied by the foreign ministry.
The Tibetan leader is scheduled to visit Lausanne on August 4 and 5 during which he will confer Medicine Buddha initiation and give teachings on Lama Tsongkhapa’s The Three Principal Aspects of the Paths (lam ghi tsowo nampa soom) and also accept a long life offering ceremony from the Tibetan Communities of Europe.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama was scheduled to travel to Switzerland and other European countries last year but had to cancel his trip due to his health problem.
Four years ago, Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin met His Holiness the Dalai Lama during a visit to Switzerland which is one of the first countries after India to provide rehabilitation to Tibetan refugees.
China regularly threatens governments and leaders to avoid the Dalai Lama whom it accuses of trying to split the motherland and seeking disguised independence, an allegation that the Tibetan leader denies persistently saying he is only seeking genuine and meaningful autonomy for the restive Himalayan region to protect its unique culture and religion.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived here this morning after completing his tour of Spiti Valley in his home state of Himachal Pradesh.
