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The DA says it will be requesting written reasons from a government department as to the reasons why a travel visa application to South Africa for the Dalai Lama was rejected by the South African government.
DA MP, Stevens Mokgalapa, says this is the third time that the Dalai Lama has been denied a visa to enter South Africa.
He says on all three past occasions, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation has been unwilling to explain to the nation and the rest of the world why it would not allow a Nobel laureate into the country.
"The decision to deny His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the past was clearly being influenced by Luthuli House's close ties with China. This is a clear violation of South Africa's well established human rights-based foreign policy," said Mokgalapa.
"This compromises South Africa's moral standing in the world and this cannot go unchallenged. South Africa's law allows for visas to be denied under very particular circumstances. The Minister must indicate under exactly what legal reason she chose to deny the Dalai Lama a visa."
"Luthuli House has sold out our foreign policy to the highest bidder. The DA will not stand by and watch this go unchallenged," he added.
China has reportedly thanked South Africa for this position.
