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Dalai Lama arrives in Lausanne

Swissinfo.ch and Agencies

The Dalai Lama greets supporters at the beginning of a ceremony in the ice stadium of Lausanne, western Switzerland, Tuesday, 4 August 2009. The Dalai Lama is on a five day visit to Switzerland.AP/Keystone/Dominic Favre/Switzerland

More than 12,000 people are expected to gather today at a skating rink in Malley near Lausanne for an audience with the Dalai Lama.

The Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in Switzerland on Monday afternoon for the start of a five-day visit that will not include a formal meeting with cabinet ministers.

“That really isn’t a problem for me,” the 74-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. “I am here to learn and don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

The Dalai Lama arrived by car shortly before 5pm at the Hotel Beau-Rivage in Ouchy on Lake Geneva, where he will be staying for the duration of his visit. About 200 people were there to welcome him on a red carpet, including dozens of monks.

He is expected to lead spiritual seminars and meet Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi, the speaker of the House of Representatives. On Thursday he will travel to Geneva for a Sino-Tibetan conference.

This is the first time the Dalai Lama has been to Lausanne. In 2005 he visited Zurich, where 30,000 people gathered to hear him speak.

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