Barack Obama to meet Tibetan spiritual leader

President Barack Obama will hold a meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile for many years, a White House spokesman said.

A day before, China stated that once President Obama meets the Dalai Lama, US-China relations may be harmed. It is worth mentioning, that the Dalai Lama was repeatedly received in the United States, but not as the head of state, but as a spiritual leader of one of the world’s religions.

As for the legal status of Tibet, the region became part of China as an autonomous area, as laid in the Agreement on Peaceful Liberalization of Tibet signed by Beijing and Lhasa in 1949.

In 1959 a rebellion which took place in Tibet, was suppressed, the government of the autonomous area was dismissed and Dalai Lama escaped to India, where he headed the “Tibetan Parliament in Exile”. The United States has several times initiated resolutions pressing for the termination of the Tibet occupation by China.

At present, the US Congress regards Tibet as an independent country occupied by foreign troops, although this position is not officially proclaimed by the executive power, which considers Tibet to be part of China de-facto.

Unrest flared up in the administrative center of the autonomous area, Lhasa in March 2008, spreading to other regions and the blame was put on the Dalai Lama. About 20 people were killed in disturbances and massive violence caused 28-million-dollar losses.

In 2010 Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama’s emissaries held negotiations in Beijing to discuss the status of the Tibetan autonomous area. A Communist Party spokesman was reported to specify Beijing’s official position on the issue and say that the Chinese government is prepared for the dialogue with the Dalai Lama, but won’t make any concessions touching upon the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.