PERU: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says he and U.S. President George W. Bush share a desire to promote democracy

Record ID: 603666

  • Title: PERU: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says he and U.S. President George W. Bush share a desire to promote democracy
  • Date: 8th May 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DALAI LAMA, SAYING (IN RESPONSE TO QUESTION ASKING HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST): "In any case, I think (according to) the newspaper, the media, the solutions are very, very sad. Many innocent people without possibilities, die, suffer a lot."
  • Embargoed: 23rd May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Peru
  • Country: Peru
  • Topics: International Relations,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVADRWSX5R85QMEQRSLY8DAA58Z9
  • Story Text: As he arrived in Peru, Buddhist spiritual leader the 14th Dalai Lama said on Sunday (May 7) that he and US President George W. Bush both share a desire to promote democracy around the world.
    "Between George Bush and me, we have one common thing: that is the promotion of democracy.... Two times, I think, or four times, I have a meeting with George Bush, we often discuss the value of democracy and fully agree."
    Asked about the violence in the Middle East, the 72-year-old Dalai Lama said it brings him great sadness.
    "In any case, I think (according to) the newspaper, the media, the solutions are very, very sad. Many innocent people without possibilities die, suffer a lot," he said.
    In 1950 the Dalai Lama took over full political responsibility for Tibet after 80,000 soldiers from the People's Liberation Army invaded. In 1959 during huge demonstrations protesters demanded China leave Tibet and restore its independence. Efforts failed and the Dalai Lama went into exile in India accompanied by thousands of his faithful followers. Today some 120,000 Tibetans live in Dharamsala, known as "Little Lhasa", where the Dalai Lama presides over his government in exile.
    He was born in 1935 in a small peasant village in the northeast of Tibet. At the age of two he assumed his role as leader of the Tibetan movement and spiritual guide as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama.
    The visit from the diminutive spiritual leader is part of a five-country tour of South America, which kicked off in Brazil's Sao Paulo where he unveiled a monument in honour of Mahatma Gandhi. He then travelled to Buenos Aires and Chile before arriving in Peru. On Monday, he will meet Quechua Indians in Cuzco, Peru, best-known for the majestic ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. From there, he will continue to Colombia, his last stop on the continent.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register