An angry China warned Canada it was fanning separatism and making a "drastic departure" in policy after Prime Minister Paul Martin agreed to meet Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
In a strongly worded statement, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa pointedly compared the Tibetan issue with Canada's past struggle to prevent francophone Quebec province going it alone.
"We are surprised to learn that the prime minister of Canada is to meet the Dalai Lama during his visit," the embassy statement said.
"Our position is: We are strongly opposed to the Dalai Lama's planned visit and any meeting with Canadian officials."
The Dalai Lama, considered a living god by followers, will visit Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto during a visit between April 19 and May 5.
China warned that any meetings he has with Canadian government officials would be "a drastic departure from Canada's current policy on the issue of Tibet."
"It will be construed by his followers as an encouragement to his separatist activities. We hope Canada, which has its own problem with Quebec will understand our position."
A spokesman for Martin told reporters this week the prime minister would meet the Dalai Lama as a spiritual rather than a political leader, following heavy domestic pressure on members of parliament from Tibetan activists here and abroad.
He will become the first Canadian head of government to meet the 1989 Nobel peace prize winner.
But the Chinese embassy statement rejected the idea that the meeting could be anything other than political.
"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.
"The issue of Tibet is neither a religious issue nor an issue of human rights, but rather a matter of principle concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Tibet's government in exile praised Canada for scheduling a meeting with the Dalai Lama as "a clear indication that strong and sustained public opinion can have a positive impact on the attitude of the governments."
"In whatever capacity the prime minister is meeting the Dalai Lama, the fact that a meeting is taking place is a recognition on the part of the Canadian government that His Holiness is a world leader and one of the most respected spiritual leaders in our time," said Thupten Samphel, spokesman for the government-in-exile based in India.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
Two former Chilean ministers are among four candidates competing this weekend for the presidential nomination of the left ahead of November elections dominated by rising levels of violent crime. More than 15 million voters are eligible to choose today between former minister of labor Jeannette Jara, former minister of the interior Carolina Toha and two members of parliament, Gonzalo Winter and Jaime Mulet, to represent the left against a resurgent right. The primary is open to members of the parties within Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who are not affiliated with specific parties. A recent poll by the
TENSIONS HIGH: For more than half a year, students have organized protests around the country, while the Serbian presaident said they are part of a foreign plot About 140,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade, the largest turnout over the past few months, as student-led demonstrations mount pressure on the populist government to call early elections. The rally was one of the largest in more than half a year student-led actions, which began in November last year after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people — a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption. On Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade’s largest square and poured into several surrounding streets. The independent protest monitor Archive of Public Gatherings estimated the
Irish-language rap group Kneecap on Saturday gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November last year. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,
RSS