Berlin, May 8 – The European representative of the Dalai Lama criticized German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday for failing to meet the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader when he visits Germany next week. Tseten Chhoekyapa said it was unfortunate that Steinmeier had turned down the chance of a meeting on the grounds he had no time. “We think he was badly advised,” Chhoekyapa said in Berlin.
The Dalai Lama is visiting Germany from May 16 during which he will hold a series of speeches, with human rights as the main theme. He is due meet the president of the German parliament, Norbert Lammert, in Berlin on May 19.
A private meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Tibetan leader in September led to a chill in relations between Berlin and Beijing that ended only in January after intense German diplomatic efforts.
China’s crackdown on Tibetan and other protestors ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August has provoked international protest.
Merkel welcomed Beijing’s offer to meet representatives of the Dalai Lama, expressing the wish that this will lead to a successful Olympic Games.
