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His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Archbishop Desmond Tutu during his visit in Dharamshala, India in 2012
Photo: AP

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been refused a visa to attend a conference of Nobel Peace Prize winners in South Africa next month. The 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, scheduled for October 13 to 15 in Cape Town, coincides with celebrations of the 20th anniversary of constitutional democracy in South Africa.

A representative of the His Holiness was informed ahead of time that the visa would be refused, whilst officials from the South African Foreign Ministry denied interference, claiming that the application would undergo due process by their representatives in New Delhi. However, the Mayor of Capetown, Patricia de Lille, said the visa had been denied “due to sensitivities related to the Chinese government”.

Fourteen of the attending laureates have signed an open letter to the President of South Africa asking him to intervene in the process and grant His Holiness’ visa application. “We are deeply concerned about the damage that will be done to South Africa’s international image by a refusal – or failure – to grant him a visa yet again,” said the laureates in their letter. Signatories include Poland’s Lech Walesa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bangladeshi entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus, Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Northern Irish peacemakers David Trimble and John Hume.

Nobel laureates initially differed in their views on how to respond, with early calls for a boycott by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, among others. The Mayor of Cape Town also opposed the refusal, warning the government of likely protest by the remaining attendees.  “If this last attempt at securing a visa is unsuccessful, the programme of the summit will be adapted to ensure that the Nobel Peace Laureates can make a powerful symbolic protest of the Dalai Lama’s treatment,” she said.

The Dalai Lama with Nelson Mandela in Cape Town in 1996
Photo: dailymail

His Holiness has been denied a South African visa on two other occasions in the last five years, including a 2009 world peace conference and Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday in 2011. A 2012 court ruling found that the 2011 visa application had been “unreasonably delayed” in an effort to prevent His Holiness attending the gathering. The administration reportedly cited wishes to maintain good relations with China, their biggest trading partner, as justification for witholding the visa.

Chinese President Xi Jinping with South African President Jacob Zuma
Photo: FreeTibet

China has previously been accused of using their political and economic power to prevent foreign governments granting His Holiness legitimacy on their soil. His Holiness was notably refused a meeting with the Norwegian government earlier this year, another country heavily dependant on Chinese trade.

Fifteen individuals and eight organisations have confirmed they will attend the event next month, including the two surviving South African Peace laureates, de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

FreeTibet.org has responded with its own calls for action, with a letter writing campaign which you can join by following this link:
http://freetibet.org/news-media/na/dalai-lama-stopped-attending-nobel-summit