15. Jun 2006
Dalai Lama refused entry to Nobel Laureate summit in South Korea
(HRW) The South Korean government has refused to allow the Dalai Lama to attend the 2006 Gwangju (Kwangju) Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, preventing him from joining 22 Nobel Peace Prize winners gathered in the south western Korean city. Winners from Kenya, Russia, Guatemala, Iran, East Timor, and the United Kingdom attended, as did representatives from Nobel-winning organisations, such as Amnesty International, the International Red Cross and the American Friends Service Committee. A South Korean Foreign Ministry official told Human Rights Watch (HRW), "Considering various factors, for now, we decided the Dalai Lama's visit to South Korea is not desirable". Seoul, wary of China, has consistently refused the Dalai Lama an entry visa. Beijing has warned that states permitting even private visits by the Dalai Lama risk Chinese retribution. HRW has called upon delegates in Gwangju to express their displeasure with South Korea's stance, and with all countries bowing to similar pressures. Kim Dae-jung, a former president, a Nobel laureate, and a conference convener, should organise such an effort, according to HRW.