Dalai Lama Proud to Be Honorary Canadian

By THE ASSOICATED PRESS
08 September 2006

The Dalai Lama declared Thursday that he was proud to be named an honorary Canadian citizen, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from China.

The leader of the world's Tibetan Buddhists spoke after arriving in Vancouver for the inauguration of the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, the world's first educational center in his name.

When he was granted the citizenship by Canada's Parliament earlier this summer, China complained to the Canadian government that it could could harm relations.

"Wherever I go, it creates some inconvenience," he told a news conference at Vancouver city hall. "I'm sorry. I hope it's not my mistake."

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs says Canada recognizes China as the legitimate government of China and Tibet, but has great respect for the Dalai Lama.

Only two other people have been granted honorary Canadian citizenship: South African leader Nelson Mandela and Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved Jews from extermination during World War II.

The Dalai Lama said Thursday Vancouver was chosen as the site of the center because its multiethnic and multiracial population gives it harmony.

"This is purely educational, not political," he said of the center.

The Dalai Lama, a Nobel peace prize winner for his struggle for Tibetan autonomy, fled into exile in northern India in 1959, following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and is still widely revered in Tibet.