US News

Obama meets Dalai Lama, rebuts Chinese objections

Feb 18, 2010, 18:05 GMT

The Dalai Lama delivers remarks to members of the press outside the Oval Office of the White House following a meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington DC, USA, 18 February 2010. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

   Washington - US President Barack Obama held a long- awaited meeting Thursday morning with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, rebutting China's threats that the encounter would further harm ties between the two powers.

Obama and the Dalai Lama met in the White House Map Room and did not appear together before cameras, unlike former president George W Bush, who met publicly with the Tibetan leader. An official photo of the meeting was to be released.

Obama called for protecting the rights of Tibetans in China and supported the Dalai Lama's ongoing talks with Chinese officials. He encouraged both sides to maintain a dialogue to 'resolve their differences,' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

'The president stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibets unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the Peoples Republic of China,' Gibbs said in a statement.

The meeting comes as US-China ties have soured in recent weeks amid spats over US arms sales to Taiwan, trade disputes, currency issues and accusations of Chinese cyber-spying from internet giant Google.

Obama had postponed a meeting with the Dalai Lama ahead of his November visit to China. But the administration rebuffed calls by China to cancel the encounter a second time.

Supporters of Tibet gathered outside the White House while Obama and the Dalai Lama were meeting inside. The 74-year-old Tibetan exile was also to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton later in the day.

It was unclear how China would react. A US aircraft carrier was given approval to dock in Hong Kong on Wednesday, though Chinese army officials based there were not expected to visit the USS Nimitz during its four-day stop, the South China Morning Post reported.

While China has grown more confident on the international stage in recent years, the meeting was not likely to dramatically affect ties. Neither side had an interest in seriously damaging relations, said Professor Robert Barnett of Columbia University in New York.

Both Obama and the Dalai Lama 'agreed on the importance of a positive and cooperative relationship between the United States and China,' Gibbs said.

The Dalai Lama has met with every US president since 1991, though the style of the meeting has varied. Former president Bill Clinton met with him privately in the White House. Bush publicly awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal in 2008.

'The meeting between the Nobel peace laureates would be an important boost for Tibet and for the broader US commitment to human rights,' the Dalai Lama's aide Tenzin Takhla said prior to their departure from New Delhi.

The Dalai Lama was to brief Obama on the situation in Tibet and the latest round of talks between his envoys and Chinese officials, IANS news agency quoted Takhla as saying.

The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since he fled from Tibet after Chinese occupation in 1959. He heads a Tibetan government-in-exile that is not recognized by any country.

China considers him a separatist, while the Dalai Lama has said he is only seeking greater autonomy for Tibet within China. Several rounds of talks between his representatives and Chinese officials have yielded little progress.

   The Tibetan leader arrived in Washington Wednesday afternoon at the start of a 10-day visit to the US, which includes a series of public lectures on cultivating compassion and world peace in California and Florida.

   On Friday he will receive the Democracy Service Medal from the National Endowment for Democracy.