© REUTERS/PHILIPPE LAURENSON
Yesterday August 22, the French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama (as announced …). What they discussed and how the puplic response is reported in today’s news.
Le Monde (France):
Cet entretien aura sûrement une tonalité politique alors que le dalaï-lama a dénoncé jeudi la poursuite de la répression chinoise au Tibet, dans un entretien au Monde. La Chine avait demandé mercredi à la France de manier “avec prudence” la question du Tibet.
[...]
L’envoi de Carla Bruni-Sarkozy à la rencontre du dalaï-lama a suscité de nombreuses critiques. Pour le Parti socialiste, il s’agit d’une “confusion des genres”. C’est une “mascarade”, renchérit Reporters sans frontières. “C’est insupportable. Mme Sarkozy n’a rien à faire dans cette histoire-là !”, a commenté Robert Ménard, son secrétaire général, lors d’une conférence de presse.
Telegraph (UK):
The Dalai Lama’s two-week visit to France was mostly focused on lectures about Buddhism, but he also seized the opportunity to express fears and grievances about Chinese policies in Tibet.
His interpreter told reporters the Dalai Lama had reiterated his concern that China was intensifying repression in Tibet during the Olympics to Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy and Mr Kouchner.
His comments are sensitive at a time when China is hosting a $43 billion Games partly aimed at impressing the rest of the world with its newfound status as a major power.
The question of Tibet came to the fore in March when Chinese forces put down protests there. Beijing came under pressure to stop the violence and engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
Warned by the Chinese ambassador to France that there would be “serious consequences” if he met the Dalai Lama, Mr Sarkozy shot back that it was not for China to determine his agenda. But in the end he declined to meet the Buddhist exile.
Filed under: politics | Tagged: Bruni-Sarkozy, China, Dalai Lama, Olympia Beijing 2008, Tibet
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