NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with a representative of Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in New Delhi on Wednesday, a State Department spokesperson said, a move that is likely to provoke anger in China.
Blinken met briefly with Ngodup Dongchung, who serves as a representative of Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), also known as the Tibetan government in exile, the spokesperson said.
Chinese troops seized Tibet in 1950 in what Beijing calls a “peaceful liberation.” In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
The CTA and Tibetan advocacy groups have received a boost in international support in recent months amid rising criticism of China’s human rights record, particularly from the United States.
In November, Lobsang Sangay, the former head of the Tibetan government in exile, visited the White House, the first such visit in six decades.
A month later, the US Congress passed the Tibet Policy and Support Act, which calls for the right of Tibetans to choose the successor to the Dalai Lama, and the establishment of a US consulate in the Tibetan capital Lhasa.
Blinken’s meeting with Dongchung is the most significant contact with the Tibetan leadership since the Dalai Lama met then-president Barack Obama in Washington in 2016.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing says Tibet is a part of China and has labelled the Dalai Lama a dangerous separatist.
In his first visit to India since joining US President Joe Biden’s administration, Blinken also met his Indian counterpart, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and other officials on Wednesday before heading to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two sides are expected to discuss supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, the security situation in Afghanistan, and India’s human rights record.
Speaking to a group of civil society leaders at a New Delhi hotel, Blinken said that the relationship between the United States and India was “one of the most important in the world.”
“The Indian people and the American people believe in human dignity and equality of opportunity, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms including freedom of religion and belief . . . these are the fundamental tenets of democracies like ours,” he said.
“And of course, both of our democracies are works in progress. As friends we talk about that.”
Indian foreign ministry sources said ahead of Blinken’s visit that the country was proud of its pluralistic traditions and happy to discuss the issue with him.
Modi’s government has faced allegations of suppressing dissent, pursuing divisive policies to appeal to its Hindu nationalist base and alienating Muslims, the country’s biggest minority.
Blinken arrived in India on Tuesday night and leaves for Kuwait later on Wednesday.
Risking China’s anger, Blinken meets representative of Dalai Lama in India
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Risking China’s anger, Blinken meets representative of Dalai Lama in India
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also met his Indian counterpart, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Norway launches probe of Middle East diplomat and husband over Epstein links
- Mona Juul resigned from her position as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq
- Juul and her husband Terje Rod-Larsen played key roles in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which led to the Oslo Accords
OSLO: Norwegian police said Monday they have launched an “aggravated corruption” investigation against a high-profile diplomat, Mona Juul, and her husband Terje Rod-Larsen, over the couple’s links to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The police economic crime unit Okokrim said in statement that the probe began last week and that an Oslo residence was searched on Monday, as well as a residence belonging to a witness.
“We have launched an investigation to determine whether any criminal offenses have been committed. We are facing a comprehensive and, by all accounts lengthy investigation,” Okokrim chief Pal Lonseth, said.
Juul, 66, and Rod-Larsen, 78, played key roles in the secret Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which led to the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s.
Epstein left $10 million in his will to the couple’s two children, according to Norwegian media.
“Among other things, Okokrim will investigate whether she received benefits in connection to her position,” the statement said.
On Sunday, the foreign ministry announced that Juul had resigned from her position as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq.
“Juul’s contact with the convicted abuser Epstein has shown a serious lapse in judgment,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in connection to the announcement.
She had already been temporarily suspended last week pending an internal investigation by the ministry into her alleged links to Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
Norway’s political and royal circles have been thrust into the eye of the Epstein storm, including the CEO of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende.
Former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland, is also being investigated for “aggravated corruption” over links to Epstein while he was chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee — which awards the Nobel Peace Prize — and as secretary general of the Council of Europe.
Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has also come under scrutiny for her relationship with Epstein, which on Friday she said she “deeply regretted.”
On Monday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store voiced support for the establishing of an independent commission set up by Parliament, to fully examine the nature of the ties between these figures and Epstein.
