Ottawa, Canada, 28 October
2007 (CTV.ca) - The Dalai Lama arrived in Ottawa Sunday as part of a historic trip
that will see the wildly popular spiritual leader meet officially with
Canadian politicians and offer teachings to thousands. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, was greeted by Environment Minister John Baird and Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien at the Ottawa International Airport on Sunday morning. The Dalai Lama, 72, is scheduled to
make a public address on "Global Citizenship Through Universal
Responsibility" to thousands later this afternoon at the Ottawa Civic
Centre. The event is hosted by the Canada Tibet Committee. Prime
Minister Stephen Harper will publicly meet the Dalai Lama in his
Parliament Hill office on Monday afternoon -- the first time a prime
minister has ever held formal talks with the exiled spiritual leader. The
Dalai Lama met with former prime minister Paul Martin in 2004 for a
one-hour private talk held at the home of the Roman Catholic Archbishop
of Ottawa. Martin's predecessor, Jean Chrétien, refused such a meeting.
The spiritual
leader is currently on a North American tour to promote Tibetan
autonomy and the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist culture ahead of the
2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Chinese
officials are vehemently opposed to foreign leaders meeting with the
Dalai Lama, claiming the Nobel laureate is a political figure and a
separatist. U.S. President George Bush and German Chancellor
Angela Merkel received tongue lashings from the Chinese leadership for
their recent public meetings with the Dalai Lama.
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