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Dalai Lama to meet US Tibet envoy Obama 'snubs' Dalai Lama meeting
(about 14 hours later)
The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, will meet the new US co-ordinator for Tibet in Washington, the US state department has said. US President Barack Obama has been accused of bowing to Chinese pressure by delaying a meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama arrives on Monday and a meeting has been scheduled with the new co-ordinator, Maria Otero. Mr Obama has said he will not meet the Dalai Lama, who is currently in the US, until after visiting China in November.
The Dalai Lama will also meet lawmakers but not President Barack Obama. But human rights activists and some US lawmakers accused Mr Obama of putting economic issues first - a move denied by the White House.
China, which took over Tibet by force in 1950, considers the Dalai Lama a dangerous separatist and demands that other nations do not meet him. China, which took over Tibet in 1950, considers the Dalai Lama a separatist.
The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 after Chinese troops crushed an attempted uprising. Beijing also demands that other nations do not meet the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after Chinese troops crushed an attempted uprising.
Criticism 'Wrong message'
The Dalai Lama will spend a week in Washington after having travelled around North America for a fortnight giving spiritual teachings. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican lawmaker on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement that the White House was "kowtowing" to Beijing by delaying a meeting with the spiritual leader.
Mr Obama has indicated he will not meet the Dalai Lama, 74, until after visiting Beijing in November. The Dalai Lama has always been supportive of American engagement with China Dalai Lama's envoy Lodi Gyari
Tibetan figures in exile and human rights activists have criticised the US for putting economic issues first. Her words were echoed by Leonard Leo, chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, who described the Obama administration's decision as "a strategic snub".
He said it sent "the wrong message to Beijing and to China's religious communities and rights activists".
Both Washington and the Dalai Lama's envoy played down the significance of delaying the meeting.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the Dalai Lama would meet the new US co-ordinator for Tibet, Maria Otero, during his current trip.
And Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama's envoy, said the spiritual leader took "a broader and long-term perspective" that it was better to meet Mr Obama after his talks in China.
"The Dalai Lama has always been supportive of American engagement with China," Lodi Gyari said in a statement.
"Our hope is that the co-operative US-Chinese relationship that President Obama's administration seeks will create conditions that support the resolution of the legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people."
The Dalai Lama, who is 74, arrived in Washington on Monday. He will spend a week in the US capital after travelling around North America for a fortnight giving spiritual teachings.
The spiritual leader has met all serving US presidents since George Bush in 1991.The spiritual leader has met all serving US presidents since George Bush in 1991.
Ms Otero was named as the state department coordinator for Tibet last Thursday.