McCain, Dalai Lama To Discuss Freeing Tibet

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will show support for a free Tibet in a meeting with the Dalai Lama on Friday.

The Republican nominee-in-waiting is scheduled to meet with the exiled spiritual leader during a conference in Aspen, Colorado, sponsored by the Aspen Institute.

McCain described the Dalai Lama as "a transcendent international role model and hero" while in Ohio on Thursday. He added, "I have admired him and respected him for the efforts he's made on behalf of freedom of the people of Tibet but also all over the world," according to the Wall Street Journal.

It will be McCain's first meeting with the Dalai Lama, who sent the four-term senator a note four months ago thanking him for the "concern you have shown regarding the sad turn of events in Tibet and for your efforts to persuade the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint." McCain earlier this year called for a boycott of the Olympics, which will be held in Beijing in August, but also stressed the value of trade with China.

"It does no service to the Chinese government, and certainly no service to the people of China, for the United States and other democracies to pretend that the suppression of rights in China does not concern us. It does, will and must concern us," he had said. "We value our ability to cooperate with the Chinese government on a wide variety of strategic, economic, and diplomatic fronts. But the Chinese government needs to understand that in our modern world, how a nation treats its citizens is a legitimate subject of international concern."

Demonstrations in March in China against the government's refusal to recognize Tibet as a separate nation turned violent after police clashed with protesters. The violence was internationally condemned and leaders from Germany, Poland and other nations declared a boycott of the Games.

China is also under fire for its support for what many have called genocide in Darfur.

The war in Darfur, which began in 2003 among warring ethnic factions, is regarded as one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. China has maintained its support for the Sudanese government, which has been accused of funding an Arab militia to wage a war against non-Arab rebels.

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of Tibet. He has been exiled in India since 1959. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.