The Secret Tibet (The Forbidden world)

AP, BEIJING
Thursday, May 10, 2007, Page 5

In a statement, the Dalai Lama said he decided not to attend a gathering of Tibetans in Brussels tomorrow to save Belgium any trouble. The statement did not specify the pressure China exerted but connected it to an upcoming China tour by Belgium's crown prince.

"The Belgian government shared with me their predicament on account of pressure from the People's Republic of China," the Dalai Lama's statement said. "Having considered the situation, I have decided not to visit Brussels this time."

Beijing has for years mounted an aggressive lobbying campaign against the Dalai Lama, seeking to deny international legitimacy to the Nobel Peace Prize winner and undermine his enduring popularity in Chinese-controlled Tibet.

Both Russia and South Korea have prohibited the Dalai Lama from even transiting their countries in deference to Beijing.

Like many European countries, Belgium is actively seeking ways to boost trade with the world's fastest-growing large economy, and Crown Prince Philippe is expected to head a 300-member trade delegation to Beijing next week.

Belgium's ambassador to Beijing, Bernard Pierre, declined to confirm that Brussels had come under Chinese pressure and referred inquiries to the Belgian Foreign Ministry. But he said the Dalai Lama's cancellation was expected.

"It is a sovereign decision by the Dalai Lama," Pierre said.

Supporters of the Dalai Lama and critics of China's harsh rule over Tibet, however, took issue with Belgium for not living up to European standards on human rights.

"It is indefensible that Belgium, a founding member of the European Union, should acquiesce to China in its attempts to silence the Dalai Lama, one of the world's greatest men of peace," Mary Beth Markey of the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet said in a statement.