OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper rolled out the same red carpet to the Dalai Lama as other world leaders Monday, provoking the wrath of the Chinese government as he deliberately greeted Tibet's exiled spiritual leader on Parliament Hill.
The two men exchanged traditional white Tibetan silk scarves called khata as they met in the prime minister's office, Mr. Harper's gift to the Dalai Lama embroidered on either end with the Canadian maple leaf.
The Chinese government has been sharply critical of the attention paid to the Dalai Lama by western leaders in recent months, and had warned of bilateral repercussions. The embassy had scheduled a news conference for Monday afternoon to speak about his most recent visit to Canada.
Mr. Harper has said in the past that he will not back down on speaking about human rights in China for the “almighty dollar.”
The Dalai Lama is welcomed at Ottawa International Airport on Sunday. (Sean Kilpatrick/ The Canadian Press)
His Conservative government followed in the footsteps of U.S. President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in choosing to meet with him in public and official venues, lending an air of political support to his message.
Paul Martin was the first Canadian prime minister to meet with the Dalai Lama in 2004, but did so at the private home of a Catholic archbishop.
The diminutive, perpetually upbeat monk joked earlier in the day that he paid little attention to formalities, or where he met with people. Secretary of State for Multiculturalism Jason Kenney hosted the Dalai Lama at his government office in Gatineau, Que.
While the Dalai Lama saluted Canada's multicultural, multiracial and harmonious country as a “model” for the world, he also said he disagreed with using violence in Iraq and Afghanistan to combat terrorism.
“Using violence to counter violence, sometimes it creates more complicated” situations, the Dalai Lama told reporters. “Violence, you see, controls your physical, not control your mind. Mind can change through reason, through affection.”
He said that is the message he would bring Harper if the subject of Canada's mission in Afghanistan came up during their meeting.
“I always believe non-violence is the best way to solve problems.”
The Dalai Lama's comments come as the Conservative government came under fire again over allegations that detainees handed over by Canadian troops are being tortured in Afghan prisons.
Throngs of well-wishers gathered beneath Parliament Hill's Peace Tower to greet the Dalai Lama as he arrived mid-morning wearing his traditional maroon and yellow robes.
He spoke to a gathering of MPs, Senators and their staff on Parliament Hill, in the historic Railway Room.
The Dalai Lama outlined in detail how he had come to be “homeless,” fleeing Tibet in 1959 when Chinese troops took control of his homeland. He has used northern India as a home base ever since.
He estimates that a half million Tibetans have lost their lives at the hands of the Chinese, and notes that suppression of religion, language and culture is getting worse.
China, which has protested the Canadian government's red-carpet treatment of the Tibetan monk, has maintained that Tibet has been a part of China for centuries. It also regards the Dalai Lama as a trouble-making separatist.
The Dalai Lama said Chinese-Tibetan relations should be conducted on the basis of “harmony, unity, mutual respect, mutual awareness about Tibetans' unique cultural heritage and rich spirituality.” He has called for an autonomous Tibet in a sovereign Chinese state, with Tibetan culture, religion and language protected.
China could stand to learn much from Canada's example, he said.
“I think firstly it is my duty to express on behalf of many, many groups of people who suffer under human-rights violations,” he said, insisting he has no political agenda. “I want to tell (Harper) he is one of the leaders who speaks very strongly about human-rights issues.
“My main commitment is promotion of human values, promotion of religious harmony — wherever I go I speak about these two things.”
