Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Boris Johnson under pressure to welcome the Dalai Lama

Alistair Currie | 17.09.2015 09:59 | Culture | Repression | Social Struggles | London | Oxford

Campaigners and Green Assembly Members lobby Mayor over London visit.

Campaign group Free Tibet has challenged Mayor of London Boris Johnson to invite the Dalai Lama to meet him during his trip to London.

The Tibetan spiritual leader and bête noire for the government of China visits the capital this weekend and next week (1)

London Green Party Assembly Members Jenny Jones and Darren Johnson have endorsed the call and are also pressuring the Mayor to extend an official welcome the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama’s trip is his first visit to London since 2012, when David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg provoked China’s anger by having a private meeting with the spiritual leader.

After the meeting, the Chinese government threatened “serious consequences”, saying it had "seriously interfered with China's internal affairs, undermined China's core interests, and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" (2).

London is a key UK trading partner with China and the Mayor has been an enthusiastic advocate of closer ties with the country (3).

In 2013 he undertook a trade trip to China, where he notoriously tried to avoid saying the Dalai Lama’s name in a UK television interview and declined to make any comment on human rights (4).

London Green Party Assembly Member Jenny Jones said:

“The Dalai Lama is rightly respected and loved across the world as an advocate for peace and compassion.

"A global figure of such popularity and importance should be welcomed in London, not shunned in London.

"It’s the job of the Mayor to represent this city and its values, not just to tout for business.

"With China’s economy looking shaky and the capital’s increasing importance as a trading partner, what happens here has influence there.

"Boris Johnson should pay respect to a great leader - and show Beijing and the world that London is big enough and strong enough not to trade away its values in the hope of a fast buck.”

Free Tibet contacted the Mayor on 28 August but has yet to receive a reply.
Its letter (5) asked him to extend an official welcome to the spiritual leader and to:

"demonstrate that you put the principles that guide our democracy and respect for human rights above the blatant and illegitimate attempts by the government of China to impose its will on British policy… [Shunning the Dalai Lama] sends a message to Beijing that instead of engaging in dialogue to promote the peaceful resolution of the ongoing crisis in Tibet, it can continue with the repression that has caused Tibetans such deep distress and provoked unceasing resistance."

Free Tibet director Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren said:

“How politicians respond to China’s strategy to vilify and isolate the Dalai Lama is a real litmus test of their commitment to democracy and human rights. It looks like David Cameron has failed that test but Boris Johnson has a chance to show that he can do better.

"The people of Tibet risk their lives to stand up to China’s intimidation – surely the Mayor of London can risk a few strong words from the ambassador.

"As China’s government well knows, meeting the Dalai Lama doesn’t mean you support independence for Tibet. It just means you have the backbone to stand up to a bully.”

More than 300 Free Tibet supporters have also contacted the Mayor to ask him to welcome the Dalai Lama.

Contacts:

Jenny Jones AM
M: 07786 277376
E:  Jenny.Jones@london.gov.uk


Free Tibet media manager Alistair Currie:
E:  Alistair@freetibet.org
T: +44 (0)207 324 4605
M: +44 (0)780 165 4011


Notes to editors

(1)The Dalai Lama is currently in the UK. He has public speaking engagements in London on 19 and 20 September and will be meeting MPs in the House of Commons on 22 September.  http://tibet.net/2015/09/his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-to-visit-oxford-cambridge-and-london-during-14-22-september-uk-tour/ He visited the UK for two days in June this year to attend the Glastonbury festival but did not come to London.

(2)BBC News 16 May 2012  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18084223

(3)According to the Greater London Authority, London receives 60% of all Chinese direct foreign investment in the UK and development deals are worth billions of pounds. Before his 2013 trip, Boris Johnson said “I will be taking every chance we can to promote London as the best big city to invest in. The ties between London and China have grown strong over many hundreds of years - this trip aimed at making that bond even stronger." Source: GLA press release, 11 October 2013  https://www.london.gov.uk/media/mayor-press-releases/2013/10/mayor-of-london-leads-top-business-delegation-on-trade-mission

(4)Huffington Post, 13 October  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/10/13/boris-johnson-china_n_4092182.html

(5)Copy of letter available from Free Tibet

Free Tibet campaigns for an end to China's occupation of Tibet and for international recognition of Tibetans' right to freedom.
We mobilise active support for the Tibetan cause, champion human rights and challenge those whose actions help sustain the occupation

Alistair Currie
- e-mail: alistair@freetibet.org
- Homepage: http://freetibet.org/

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech