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Analysts: US President’s Meeting With Dalai Lama a Step Forward

21 February 2010 04:52 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The United States and China have a new reason for tension: President Barack Obama’s recent meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, APA reports citing www.voanews.com.

The meeting came despite strong efforts by China to keep it from happening. Despite that, analysts say Washington’s decision to take a stand on human rights regardless of what China may say or do in response will ultimately move the U.S. - China relationship forward.

Chinese officials typically characterize the Dalai Lama as a "wolf in monk’s robes," a Tibetan separatist. But for many others, he is a champion of peace. On Thursday, the spiritual leader met at the White House with U.S. President Barack Obama and thanked him for his support of the Tibetan cause.

"Even before he was president, during the election, he telephoned me and even after he became president, he was always showing his genuine concern, and including his visit to Beijing you see, he expressed his concern about Tibet and other global issues so I expressed my thanks to him," said the Dalai Lama.

Supporters who had gathered outside his hotel in Washington sang songs and thanked the Obama administration for allowing the meeting to take place. Some wiped back tears. Last October, Mr. Obama chose not to meet with the Dalai Lama before visiting China in an effort to please Beijing.

That decision raised questions about Mr. Obama’s support for human rights in China, and was in contrast to what his predecessors had done. When President George W. Bush’s was in office, he presented the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal.

Sophie Richardson, the advocacy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, says Mr. Obama’s administration made the mistake of assuming one needs to build up goodwill with China.

Richardson says that in dealing with Beijing, the U.S. government should be clear and consistent from the start on human rights. "I think the president’s decision not to meet the Dalai Lama until after he had visited Beijing, certainly gave the impression that he was going to go soft on human rights issues," said Richardson.

Mr. Obama did not speak publicly about the meeting, but the White House released a photo of the two Nobel Peace Prize recipients together. Mr. Obama also said in a statement that he supports Tibet’s unique religious, cultural identity and urged China and Tibetans to resolve their differences through dialogue.