China fumes while Czech Republic and Tibetan delegates declare Havel-Dalai Lama friendship spirit lives on

The high-level Czech Republic delegation led by Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and a CTA delegation led by CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations(DIIR) Minister Norzin Dolma during their meeting on Wednesday. Image: tibet.net.

DHARAMSALA, 3 March: China has fumed after the Czech Foreign Minister met with representatives of the Central Tibetan Administration(CTA), commonly known as the Tibetan government in exile.

As per expats.cz, the largest English-language portal within the Czech Republic, the meeting has infuriated China, drawing sharp criticism from the Chinese embassy in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

“The Chinese side once again calls on the relevant Czech side to abide by the political commitment of one China, to stop using China-related issues for political manipulation and to avoid creating further disturbances and obstacles in the development of Sino-Czech relations,” the report said citing Chinese embassy spokesperson following the meeting. 

This will further strain relations between Czech and China, the report said.

The meeting of the high-level Czech Republic delegation led by Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and a CTA delegation led by CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations(DIIR) Minister Norzin Dolma took place on Wednesday on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi.

While China has fumed and warned the Czech that this could harm their relationship, the delegation of Czech and Tibetans have both lauded it as the continuation of the spirit of the former Czech President Václav Havel’s friendship with the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness Dalai Lama.

“During my visit to India, it was a pleasure to meet again the representatives of Tibetans in exile. The spirit of Václav Havel’s friendship with His Holiness Dalai Lama lives on,” the Czech foreign minister commented after the meeting.

Lipavský has reportedly criticized China’s human rights policy in Tibet and called out China for its severe and unwarranted persecution of Tibetans. 

Rebuffing the criticism from the Chinese embassy, he has said that “he had not violated any terms of Czech foreign policy and he did not do anything wrong.”

According to Tibet.net, the CTA’s official website, Lipavský has said that “The human rights situation is not simple,” and declared that its “a normal visit in line with our well-known and standard politics in the human rights field.”

Lobsang Shastri, the Representative at the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi, who accompanied the CTA Minister at the meeting with the Bureau Secretary has described the meeting as a “productive exchange of views on mutual priorities and concerns.”

“We are deeply encouraged by the continued support of the Czech Republic for Tibet and the Tibetan people”, the report added.

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