Botswana should not bow to Chinese pressure over Dalai Lama

Beijing views the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, as a dangerous separationist campaigning for Tibetan independence and consistently condemns foreign leaders who meet with him. The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, says he seeks greater rights, including religious freedom, and true autonomy for Tibetans.

Visits by the Dalai Lama to foreign countries annoy China. It often retaliates by stopping high level meetings, taking economic steps, like last year when it imposed new border fees following a visit by the Dalai Lama to Mongolia. Botswana’s neighbour, South Africa has denied a visa to the Buddhist monk three times since 2009 in what observers say shows the extent of Beijing’s influence over Pretoria.