Nobel laureates in plea to president Zuma over Dalai Lama

Warning:

This article may contain graphic and/or adult content unsuitable for minors and sensitive readers.

Read the article

Fourteen Nobel Peace Laureates have asked President Jacob Zuma to guarantee the Dalai Lama a visa to South Africa.

This, after the Tibetan spiritual leader was forced to abandon a trip to the country.

The Dalai Lama was to attend a summit of Nobel peace prize winners in Cape Town next month, the first-ever meeting of its kind in Africa.

But, according to an aide, he cancelled after Pretoria denied him a visa in a bid to avoid angering China, which regards the Buddhist monk as a campaigner for Tibetan independence.

In a letter to President Zuma, the 14 Nobel laureates said they were deeply concerned about the damage that will be done to South Africa's international image by a refusal -- or failure -- to grant him a visa yet again.

The Dalai Lama has applied three times in the last five years to visit the Rainbow Nation of Nelson Mandela.