By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, Feb 16: His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tuesday said he was feeling happy about meeting with President Barack Obama later this week.
The exiled Tibetan leader left Dharamsala, his exile seat in the northern India, for a 10-day US visit, during which he is scheduled to meet Obama, and attend a host of religious and social functions. (Click Here for the upcoming schedule)
The exiled Tibetan leader made the comment before leaving for New Delhi aboard a private chartered plane from here this afternoon.
“I am happy” the Dalai Lama said before heading to board the plane, but declined to take questions from reporters about the meeting.
The Tibetan leader will leave Wednesday for Washington and is scheduled to meet Obama Thursday. On Friday the National Endowment for Democracy will present its Democracy Service Medal to the Dalai Lama.
Despite China’s stern and repeated warnings that Sino-US ties would be damaged if Obama meets the Dalai Lama US has refused to cancel the planned meeting.
Talking to a foreign news agency here on Monday, Prime Minister of the Tibet’s Government in exile Samdhong Rinpoche said the meeting would surely give a boost to Tibetan sentiments and send a strong message to China that they cannot dictate terms to any country.
“It is encouraging, particularly for the Tibetans living inside Tibet; they would be very much encouraged. And also it is a good message to PRC (People’s Republic of China) leadership that they cannot dictate everyone by their kind of arrogance and bullism. So I think it’s good message to them,” he added.
During the special prayer sessions here Sunday to mark Losar (Tibetan New Year), the Dalai Lama expressed concern over the plight of people living in Tibet.
“Despite facing great problems in Tibet for many years, the Tibetan people living inside have shown indomitable courage and sincerity in standing up to the situation,” the Dalai Lama told thousands of Tibetan exiles who gathered at the Tsuglakhang temple to greet him.
Tibetan exiles around the world decided against celebrating the Lunar New Year for a second year in remembrance of the suffering of people inside Tibet.
“Tibetans are marking the year as a year of remembrance of Tibetan people’s suffering… Tibetans living in the free world must not forget the critical situation in Tibet. The Tibetans in exile must keep up their sincerity and courage like their brethren in Tibet,” His Holiness said.
The Dalai Lama’s spokesman Tenzin Taklha, who will also travel to Washington, reportedly said the Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama will send a “strong signal” to China that the time has come to resolve the Tibet issue.
He dismissed Beijing’s anger as “routine rhetoric” that hid the Chinese government’s concern about world opinion on Tibet.
“No matter what China says, China cares about international opinion,” AFP quoted Taklha as saying on Tuesday.
“For us, the main issue is the six million people in Tibet and their well-being.
“The president’s meeting with His Holiness is an expression of the international community’s concern and it sends a strong signal to the Chinese that they need to work with us to reach a solution,” Taklha said.
The Dalai Lama has met Obama before he became president.
During the US presidential election campaign in 2008, Obama expressed support for the Tibetan people, though he did not meet the spiritual leader at that time.
Obama later wrote to the Dalai Lama, saying that ‘American attention to and backing for the people of Tibet is widespread’.
‘I regret that our respective travel schedules will prevent us from meeting during your visit to the United States this month (July 2008), but I wanted to take the opportunity to reassure you of my highest respect and support for you, your mission and your people at this critical time,’ Obama wrote in his letter dated July 24, 2008.
