[Buddha-l] US Congress Honors HHDL -- Obama delays meeting him

[Dan Lusthaus]

Calls for Obama to Reconsider Dalai Lama Rebuff
By Michelle Boorstein

There's some new pressure from Capitol Hill for President Obama to 
reconsider his rebuff of the Dalai Lama.

Obama is the first U.S. president in nearly two decades not to meet with the 
Tibetan leader during a D.C. trip, and Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia is 
pressing him to change his mind and not "kowtow to the Chinese government, a 
government that brutally oppresses its own people." Wolf made the comments 
on the House floor yesterday.

Leonard Leo, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious 
Freedom (a federal body created to give guidance on the subject to the 
highest U.S. officials), told the AFP the Obama move is "a strategic snub."

Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee later this afternoon (4 p.m.), right after he attends an award 
ceremony for people who have boosted the Tibetan cause. Among the 
interesting folks there will be a group of Chinese who have spoke out in 
defense of the Tibetans. Our colleague Maureen Fan a few months ago wrote a 
fabulous article about the rise of Chinese pursuing Tibetan Buddhism.

Actor and celeb-Buddhist Richard Gere, a very longtime ally of the Dalai 
Lama, will also be there today at the ceremony at 1:30 p.m. at Sidney Harman 
Hall downtown.

http://tinyurl.com/yca5zzg

from the Washington Post



Dan

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Curt Steinmetz" <curt at cola.iges.org>
To: "Buddhist discussion forum" <buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 9:26 AM
Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] US Congress Honors HHDL -- Obama delays meeting him


“I will meet not just with our friends but with our enemies - not just
with those we agree with but those we don’t."

Questioner: "Would you be willing to meet separately, without
precondition, during the first year of your administration, in
Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela,
Cuba and North Korea?....."
Candidate Obama: "I would."

Curt

Dan Lusthaus wrote:
> Congress members honor the Dalai Lama
>
> As lawmakers hold a ceremony at the Capitol for the Tibetan leader, Obama 
> is
> criticized for delaying a meeting with him until after the president's 
> visit
> to China.
>
> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dalai-lama7-2009oct07,0,1161410.story
>
> _______________________________________________
> buddha-l mailing list
> buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
>

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