CHINA-DENMARK: DALAI LAMA/TIBET
|
Confirming that Denmark’s government will not be meeting the Dalai Lama in Copenhagen this week, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Martin Lidegaard told reporters in e-mailed comments that “The Dalai Lama has not requested a meeting with the government.” He added “We believe we can best help the Tibetans to have genuine autonomy, their own free culture and respect for human rights by engaging in cooperation and a human rights dialogue with China on the basis of the constitution that is now in place in China.” Lidegaard also affirmed that Danish policy was “unchanged: We view Tibet as a part of the People’s Republic of China.” The decision was criticised by the head of Denmark’s Tibet Support Committee, Anders Hoejmark Andersen.
(Comment: A 2009 meeting between Dutch Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt’s predecessor, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, and the Dalai Lama, though termed as private had strained Sino-Denmark relations resulting in the cancellation of bilateral ministerial meetings.
|