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Dalai Lama to become citizen of Warsaw

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The Dalai Lama gestures during a teaching at the Tibetan Children’s Village School in Dharamshala, India, on 24 June 2009. The Mayor of Warsaw, Poland, Ms Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, will present the honorary citizenship of Warsaw to the Dalai Lama at a ceremony at the Royal Castle on 29 July.

The Dalai Lama will become an honorary citizen of Polish capital Warsaw, according to the the website of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Mayor of Warsaw, Ms Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, will present the honorary citizenship to the Dalai Lama at a ceremony at the Royal Castle on 29 July.

The Dalai Lama will be in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, from 27 to 29 July, as he begins tour to three European countries for two weeks, giving teachings, lectures and attending other functions, the website quoted other sources as saying.

In June he became an honorary citizen of Paris, the capital of France. Two Italian cities — Venice and Rome — bestowed honorary citizenship to him in February, and he has been an honorary citizen of Canada since September 2006.

During his visit to the Polish capital, the Dalai Lama will give a lecture on “Value of education and universal responsibility” at the University of Warsaw.

He last visited Poland in December 2008 to take part in ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Polish labour leader Lech Walesa.

The Dalai Lama met French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the sidelines of the Walesa ceremony, sparking an outburst of anger from China, which fiercely condemned the meeting and warned of straining the ties between the two countries.

He also met with Polish President Lech Kaczynski then.

China opposes the Dalai Lama’s trips to other countries and his meetings with any government figure.

Despite recent health concerns, the 74-year-old Tibetan leader keeps a frenetic travel schedule to teach Buddhism and push for greater freedom in Tibet.

This will be the Dalai Lama’s fourth visit to Poland. His first visit was in 1993, and then in 2000.

The Dalai Lama will leave Warsaw for Germany on 29 July and will be in Switzerland from 4-5 August.

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