Russia denies entry visa to Dalai Lama

April 26, 2010

Moscow: Russia has denied entry visa to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to visit Kalmykia, a mainly Buddhist region of the country.

Telo Tulku Rinpoche, the supreme Lama of Kalmykia, today said a request by the Kalmykia Buddhist Association for granting a Russian entry visa to the Dalai Lama was rejected by the Russian authorities.

He said he had received a letter from Moscow, saying ''the Dalai Lama's visit to Russia would be taken by Beijing especially sensitively in the current year, marking a jubilee of China's and our common victory in WWII,'' Interfax reported.

''The letter also says that the possibility of the Dalai Lama's pastoral visit to Russia could be considered later, as soon as there are signs that tensions in his relations with the Chinese official authorities lessen,'' the supreme Lama said.

''Although this refusal is disappointing, we will not stop and continue working in this direction. We hope that His Holiness' pastoral visit to Russia will take place anyway,'' he said.

The Dalai Lama visited Kalmykia, which has the largest Buddhist population in Russia, in 2004.

Over all, there are approximately 700,000 Buddhists living in Russia, where the faith is one of four officially recognised religions along with Orthodox Christianity, Islam and Judaism. ~UNI

Source: http://www.newkerala.com