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China protests Dalai Lama, Kadeer speeches

By Karel Janicek | AP

Exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama is greeted by Slovakian wellwishers upon his arrival at his hotel in Bratislava on 9 September 2009 for a visit to Slovakia.File photo/AFP/Samuel Kubani/Slovakia

China on Thursday protested planned speeches by the Dalai Lama and exiled Uyghur activist Rebiya Kadeer before a Prague conference on human rights in Asia.

Kadeer and the Dalai Lama are part of Friday’s “Peace, Democracy and Human Rights in Asia” conference organised by the Forum 2000 Foundation established by former Czech President Vaclav Havel.

“We have expressed our view that we are against the visit (of Kadeer) because its aim is to promote her separatist views,” Chinese Embassy spokesman Chen Jian Jun said.

Beijing accuses Kadeer, who is based in the United States, of inciting recent riots between Uyghurs and members of the dominant Han Chinese group in western Xinjiang province that killed at least 197 people and injured more than 1,700. She denies it.

Chinese authorities also accuse the Tibetan spiritual leader of seeking independence from Communist China. The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in northern India, insists he merely wants more autonomy for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama said Thursday that his numerous visits to different countries, including the Czech Republic, were “unpolitical.”

“My main concern is promotion of human value, this is universal, and promotion of religious harmony,” he said at the start of a three-day visit. “I came here as Nobel (Peace Prize) laureate and (to talk) about human rights, about religious freedom, about freedom of expression.”

“The whole world knows I’m not seeking independence, I’m not seeking separation. I’m a person who’s totally devoted to promoting democracy,” he said.

The Dalai Lama called the Chinese charges against Kadeer baseless.

“She unlike some other Uyghur people… totally agrees with our way, strictly nonviolent way,” he said. “She also prefers a meaningful autonomy, not separation.”

The Czech Foreign Ministry said Kadeer’s visit was “private” and could not be interpreted as a sign of Czech support for Uyghur separatism.

“The main topics of Forum 2000 are human rights and democracy, which traditionally form the core of the Czech foreign policy, even in our relations with China,” the ministry said.

Organisers of the conference said they were not aware of the Chinese protest.

Copyright © 2009 AP

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