Bangkok: Thailand has refused to grant a
tourist visa to the sister of the Dalai Lama for fear of
angering China, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Jetsun Pema, the younger sister of the exiled Tibetan
spiritual leader, who like her brother lives in India, was due
to take part in a three-day cultural show in Bangkok beginning
Friday until the Thai embassy in New Delhi refused her.
"We support the cultural show but in the case of the Dalai
Lama's sister we have reserved our right to reject her visa
application along with her husband's because we don't want to
get involved in international politics," said Chavanond
Intarakomalyasut, secretary to Thailand's foreign minister.
The Tibetan monk's 69-year-old sister was due to make a
speech about Buddhist education for Tibetan exiles that the
ministry feared could touch on the thorny issue of China's
rule of the Himalayan region.
China is highly critical of any diplomatic ties with the
Dalai Lama, who fled his homeland in 1959 and has since lived
in India.
He advocates greater autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule
but is seen by Beijing as a separatist bent on independence
for his homeland, and Sino-US relations were strained by his
meeting last month with US President Barack Obama at the White
House.
China invests heavily in Thailand's agricultural and
industrial sectors, with the two countries maintaining close
diplomatic ties.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 03, 2010, 20:56