WASHINGTON – Maria Otero, the US government’s new pointperson on Tibet, will meet the Dalai Lama after he arrives in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.
“Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Maria Otero, who is also the US government’s special coordinator for Tibetan issues, will meet with the Dalai Lama upon his arrival to Washington DC this week,” Kelly said.
Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, who has met every sitting US president since George H.W. Bush in 1991, is due to arrive later Monday on a week-long visit to Washington that will also include talks with congressional leaders.
But he will not meet with President Barack Obama.
Kelly, who gave no details about the meeting between Otero and the Dalai Lama, told reporters at the daily State Department briefing that the president will “meet the Dalai Lama at a mutually agreeable time.”
But he referred reporters to the White House for further details.
Clinton only last Thursday announced Otero’s appointment as Tibet coordinator, a role in which she is expected to promote dialogue between between China and representatives of the Dalai Lama.
China said last month it “firmly opposed” any meetings between foreign officials and the Dalai Lama, after top Obama aides met the Tibetan spiritual leader in India.
Beijing also issued a veiled warning to the White House against an eventual meeting between Obama and the Buddhist monk, seen by China as a “splittist” seeking independence for Tibet despite his calls for regional autonomy.
Aides to the Dalai Lama then said the spiritual leader would not meet Obama on his visit to Washington this week, which prompted Tibetan prime minister-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche to accuse the United States of appeasement.
“We’ve decided to meet with the Dalai Lama because of our respect for his position, for the fact that he is a revered spiritual leader,” Kelly said.
“Our position regarding China is clear, that we want to engage China. We think China is an important global player,” the spokesman said.
“We also don’t try and downplay some of the concerns we have about China and some of our disagreements with China in the area of human rights, religious freedom and freedom of expression,” he said.
“But I think these are two separate issues — the president’s decision to meet with the Dalai Lama and the path that our relationshp with China is on,” he said.
