|
US senate honours Dalai Lama
26/05/2006 19:07 - (SA)
Washington - The United States senate has adopted legislation to award a congressional gold medal to Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
The award, initially bestowed on military leaders, has also been given to such diverse individuals as Sir Winston Churchill, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.
The medal would be given to the Dalai Lama "in recognition of his advocacy of peace, tolerance, human rights, non-violence, and compassion throughout the world", according to a bill, which won broad support in the senate on Friday.
Similar legislation has been introduced in the house of representatives.
Under the rules, congressional gold medals require the support of at least two-thirds of the members of both the senate and house of representatives before they can be signed into law by the president.
'He has been a shining light'
Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein, who proposed the legislation, said: "The Dalai Lama has struggled for half a century to better the lives of the Tibetan people - armed only with his compassion, courage and conviction.
"In doing so, he has been a shining light to all those fighting for freedom around the world."
The Dalai Lama received the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for his work to bring democracy and freedom to his people. He fled Tibet in 1959, after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.
He established a government-in-exile in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala and worked to spread the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism to Western nations.
Beijing has recently signalled a willingness to allow the spiritual leader to return to Tibet if he "completely abandons" independence ambitions for the Himalayan region.
- AFP
|
News
