His Holiness expresses regret over demise of Shimon Peres

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA, Sept 29:  Expressing sadness at the demise of fellow Nobel Peace laureate and Israeli statesman Shimon Peres, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has conveyed his condolences to the family members of the deceased.

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His Holiness with Shimon Peres.

“I offer my prayers for him and convey my condolences to the members of his family at this difficult time. I admired his efforts to promote peace between Israel and Palestine, which actually did lead to the historic Oslo Peace Accords of 1993,” the Tibetan Nobel Peace laureate said in a missive addressed to the Director of the Peres Peace House.

Peres was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 1994 for the historic Oslo Peace Accords of 1993 with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin.

Endorsing Mr Peres’ vision, “I pray that Palestinian, Israel’s ‘closest neighbours’ will become its ‘closest friends.’ His Holiness concluded.

The 93-year-old Israeli statesman passed away on Wednesday after suffering a massive stroke two weeks ago.

The Tibetan spiritual leader has met with Mr. Peres on several occasions. The two Noble laureates last met in Jordan in 2006 while attending a conference of Nobel laureates and other thinkers addressing global concerns.

Peres has held virtually every post in Israeli Politics as President, Prime Minister and in Cabinet during his political career that spanned over half a century.