By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, February 5: As the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama landed Wednesday in Washington D.C. for what is hailed by his followers and admirers as the first ever public appearance with the US President Barack Obama, Tibetans inside Tibet and those in exile are already celebrating.
The Tibetan leader who is named among the top ten most admired persons in the world just recently by an online survey company will appear alongside Obama at the 62nd National Prayer Breakfast.
“This will be the first time that a U.S. President appears in public with the Dalai Lama since President George W. Bush presented His Holiness the Congressional Gold Medal at the Capitol in 2007. This is indeed a recognition of Tibet’s importance as a strategic and moral issue, and builds directly on the exciting momentum generated from the Modi-Obama visit,” said Migmar Dolma, Vice President of Tibetan National Congress.
The National Prayer Breakfast is held in Washington DC on the first Thursday of February every year, hosted by members of the United States Congress and organized by The Fellowship Foundation.
The event is an annual gathering for religious leaders since 1953. Over 3,000 people are expected to attend the event.
“This public appearance of President Obama and His Holiness Dalai Lama, staged subtly in Washington DC is a sign of growing importance of the Tibet issue as the US and China finds more points of confrontation than reasons to kiss,” said Tenzin Tsundue,Tibetan activist and poet.
The US President had received the Tibetan spiritual leader three times during his Presidency in the Map Room of the White House instead of the Oval Office, where most foreign leaders meet with the President.
“Although President Obama has met His Holiness three times in private, this is the first time they will appear together in public. Inviting His Holiness to this ceremony is a not only a celebration of freedom and democracy in the US, it sends a strong signal to China that it cannot get its own way on everything, and shows a sincere recognition of the issue of Tibet,” said Tenzin Jigdel, International Co-ordinator of International Tibet Network.
The Tibetan Nobel laureate is not expected to address the gathering and will not be seated at the head table with Obama and other speakers.
“The president is a strong supporter of the Dalai Lama’s teachings and preserving Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic traditions,” said Bernadette Meehan, a National Security Council spokeswoman. “As he has done in the past, the president will see many religious leaders at the event, but we don’t have any specific meeting with the Dalai Lama to announce.”
China has already expressed its opposition to the two leaders’ meeting. Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry said, “The US leader’s planned meeting with Dalai is a gross interference in China’s domestic politics. It is a severe violation of the principles of international relations. It will inflict grave damages upon the China-US relationship.”
China has always denounced the Dalai Lama and labeled him as a “splittist” and “a monk in wolf’s clothing.” The Tibetan leader is widely respected around the world for his advocacy of peace and compassion.
A movie actor and Tibet supporter Richard Gere will also attend the event.
After concluding his US trip, His Holiness will visit Switzerland and Denmark from February 7-12 where he is scheduled to give Buddhist teachings and public talks.
