[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

NEWS - U.S. State Department Offici



Subject: NEWS - U.S. State Department Official To See Dalai Lama 

U.S. State Department Official To See Dalai Lama 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled
spiritual leader, will meet a State Department official in New
York Friday in his capacity as a religious figure, the
department said Thursday. 

The Dalai Lama, a frequent visitor to the United States, does
not plan to come to Washington this time, a State Department
spokesman and a Tibetan activist said. 

The meeting Friday will be with Julia Taft, special coordinator
for Tibetan issues and assistant secretary of state for
population, refugees and migration. 

``That meeting will be in the Dalai Lama's capacity as a
spiritual and religious figure,'' State Department spokesman
James Rubin told his daily briefing. 

``In the past the special coordinator for Tibet has worked with
the Dalai Lama and others to try to encourage dialogue
between the Dalai Lama and the government of China in order
to protect the heritage and rights of the people who live in
Tibet,'' the spokesman added. 

The United States does not recognize the Dalai Lama's
Tibetan government-in-exile but it disapproves of many
Chinese policies toward the mountain territory. 

Rubin said: ``We do support the preservation of the unique
religious, cultural and linguistic heritage of the Tibetan people
and greater protection for their human rights...We do regard
Tibet, however, as a part of China.'' 

The United States had hoped last year for a breakthrough
toward dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama and a
resolution of the Tibetan problem. But the dialogue has never
started and does not seem imminent. 

Rubin said that Tibet was a case where the United States has
to balance its national interest to maintain good relations with
other countries and its interest in promoting human rights and
religious freedom and preserving cultural heritage.