By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA – Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin will go ahead with plans to meet the Dalai Lama next week despite a strong protest from China, which regards the exiled spiritual leader as a dangerous separatist, officials said on Wednesday.
The Dalai Lama has run a government-in-exile from India since fleeing Tibet after a failed uprising in 1959. Chinese troops imposed communist rule on Tibet in 1950 and Beijing claims the region as part of its territory.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa, comparing the Dalai Lama to secessionists in the French-speaking province of Quebec, said it was “strongly opposed” to his visit and planned meetings with Martin and other government officials.
“The Dalai Lama is not merely a religious figure, but a politician in exile engaged in activities aimed at splitting China and undermining national unity,” it said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Martin said the planned meeting would take place next week but would not cover the future of Tibet.
“They will discuss spiritual and humanitarian issues and not political issues…. I’m sure that when all the details are finalized on the nature of the meeting, all parties will feel comfortable with it,” said Justin Kingsley.
“We have very good relations with China and we’re going to keep working on improving them.”
Martin will become the first Canadian prime minister to meet the Dalai Lama, who in the past has held talks on spiritual matters with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush.
The Dalai Lama said last month he was willing to negotiate with China on the future of Tibet and stressed he wanted more autonomy for the region rather than independence.
The Chinese embassy said a meeting with Martin would “be construed by (the Dalai Lama’s) followers as an encouragement to his separatist activities. We hope Canada, which has its own problem with Quebec, will understand our position”.
The people of Quebec narrowly voted against declaring sovereignty in a 1995 referendum, but since then separatist sentiment has declined.
The embassy’s reference to Quebec angered the opposition Conservative Party, which takes a much stronger line with China over Tibet than the ruling Liberals.
“In Canada, when we have Canadians who are thinking about independence, we reach out with persuasion and reason, not with military tactics,” said Conservative foreign affairs spokesman Stockwell Day.
“This is typically aggressive and provocative Chinese diplomacy…. We need to be equally assertive in our response (and say) that Canada is a sovereign nation and our leaders will decide with whom and when they want to meet.”
