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Dalai Lama 'is not a call girl'
21/12/2007 09:30 - (SA)
Ottawam - When Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper tried to explain in a year-end
interview why he'd met the Dalai Lama in his Ottawa office, it was clear he wanted to show respect for the exiled Tibetan
leader.
Unfortunately, it didn't quite come out that way.
"I met the Dalai Lama in my office but I meet everyone in
my office. I don't know why I would sneak off to a hotel room
just to meet the Dalai Lama. You know, he's not a call girl,"
Harper told OMNI television.
He quickly added: "As I say, he's a respected international
spiritual leader."
China condemns the Dalai Lama as a separatist and presses
world leaders to shun him. German Chancellor Angela Merkel met
him in September, but only in private, and last month the
Vatican called off a meeting with the Pope set for December 13.
Harper is a strong critic of China's human rights record
and what he calls the "undemocratic regime" in Beijing.
China condemned Harper for "disgusting conduct" in late
October after he met the Dalai Lama in his parliamentary office
with television cameras and photographers present.
The Dalai Lama - who fled his predominantly Buddhist
homeland in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule
- was granted honorary Canadian citizenship in June.
Harper's chief spokesperson did not respond to a query as to
whether the prime minister regretted his choice of words in the
interview, which took place on Tuesday but was embargoed until
Thursday.
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