Visa Furor Over Dalai Lama Visit to Africa

JOHANNESBURG—South Africa on Tuesday refused to say whether it would grant an entry visa to the Dalai Lama, whose plan to visit next week puts the country's leadership in a tight spot with its largest trading partner, China.

Associated Press

The Dalai Lama in India on Friday.

The visa application by the Tibetan spiritual leader, and a lobbying effort in his support by his potential hosts, the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust, arrive at an awkward time for South Africa, a continental power that has turned to Beijing to help boost a flagging economy.

On Tuesday, South Africa's Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe embarked on a visit to China, in part to drum up Chinese investment. It was with Beijing's backing this year that South Africa joined Brazil, Russia India and China in a trading club of emerging economies known as BRICS.

Mr. Motlanthe is visiting at the invitation of Vice President Xi Jinping, tipped to be China's next leader.

The visa's approval during Mr. Motlanthe's visit could spark an unwanted diplomatic row with China. Beijing has objected to the Dalai Lama's overseas visits because of the publicity they bring to politically raw issues, such as a global campaign for Tibet's independence.

The Dalai Lama is hoping to attend a birthday celebration of fellow Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu, who turns 80 on Oct. 7. He is also scheduled to deliver the inaugural Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture, according to organizers.

The Dalai Lama has made three attempts, beginning in June, before he was informed of his completed application last week, according to his Pretoria-based representative, Sonam Tenzing.

"We don't see any reason why the visa process should be so protracted," said Mr. Tenzing. "If there hasn't been pressure from China, then the South African people need to know why this application is taking so long."

A spokesman for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Clayson Monyela, said South Africa only first received a complete application on Sept. 20. He said the department wouldn't comment on the application before a decision was made.

An official at China's Embassy in Pretoria declined to comment on the visit.

The apparent delay has infuriated the spiritual leader's potential hosts.

"The lack of a decision on whether or not our government will allow His Holiness into the country is proving a major stumbling block for the organizers of the celebrations," the trust's chairwoman, Dumisa Ntsebeza wrote in a letter, dated Monday, to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

The letter also stated that Ms. Ntsebeza had discussed the Dalai Lama's visa request—and China's sensitivities on the matter—with President Jacob Zuma. Officials in the president's office couldn't be reached for comment.

Some analysts say the Dalai Lama's visa could be granted after the deputy president's trip, which ends Friday, to avoid a diplomatic dustup with China.

But for many South Africans, the visit has become a test of whether trade with China will trump matters of sovereignty.

"I can't understand why China would object, and if they do, I don't understand why our government should be influenced by them," said Ela Gandhi, a trustee of Gandhi Development Trust in Durban and granddaughter of Indian spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi. Ms. Gandhi said her trust had planned to bestow a peace award on the Dalai Lama at a ceremony in Durban.

The Dalai Lama fled Chinese-controlled Tibet in 1959 to India, where he headed a government in exile until his retirement earlier this year. These days, The Dalai Lama says he seeks only more religious autonomy for his homeland—not independence—but Beijing remains sensitive to criticism that may stir unrest.

On Monday, two monks in southwestern China set themselves on fire to protest restrictions on religious freedom.

It isn't the first time the Dalai Lama has run into visa trouble trying to visit South Africa. In 2009—the year China became its largest trading partner—Pretoria blocked the Dalai Lama from attending a peace conference. Before then, says Mr. Tenzing, the Dalai Lama had visited South Africa three times: 1996, 1999 and 2004.

The Dalai Lama has often mixed the spiritual with the political. On trips overseas—even those religious in nature—he has sought to meet foreign leaders who can help bring attention to the situation in Tibet. Some have been willing to meet; others not so much.

In July, he met with President Barack Obama, which drew criticism from China. During a trip to France in August, the Dalai Lama didn't meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was on holiday. Beijing had blasted a 2008 meeting with the French president and warned that trade ties could suffer