Dalai Lama calls for religious tolerance
The Dalai Lama on Sunday told a sold-out crowd of 7,000 in Nuremberg that religious tolerance is an imperative and said it was tragic that relgious differences often lead to bloodshed.
By Agencies |
GERMANY: The Dalai Lama on Sunday told a sold-out crowd of 7,000 in Nuremberg that religious tolerance is an imperative and said it was tragic that relgious differences often lead to bloodshed.
"We need all the different religions to serve the people, because the people are different and have different goals," he said during his appearance at Nuremburg Arena in southern Germany.
Before the Dalai Lama spoke, Wolfgang Grader, leader of the Tibet Initiative Deutschland, called for more support for Tibetans. Grader said Tibetans face more persecution now than in decades. He said some 5,000 Tibetans are in prison, most of them unjustly.
Germany's human rights commissioner, Guenter Nooke, also addressed the crowd and renewed calls for negotiations between the Chinese government and Tibetan leaders over the administration of Tibet. Nooke said such negotiations could be organised through "diplomatic skill and public pressure."
The Dalai Lama was scheduled to give a similar speech later in the city of Bamberg and will speak tomorrow at a rally in front of Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate after meeting with German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zuel.
On Friday, China filed a formal complaint about a meeting between the Dalai Lama and the development minister, arguing that it violated Germany's commitment to the "one-China" policy.
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Merkel's spokesman said on Friday that the Dalai Lama is a religious leader, not a state official, and that the meeting did not represent a break from Germany's policy toward China. Download
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