Thai media raps govt for denying visa to Dalai Lama's sister

Bangkok: Refusal of visa to Tibetan Spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's sister and her husband to attend a Tibetan cultural event here has shown Thailand in a bad light, a leading Thai English daily said today.

In its lead editorial titled, 'Visa refusal sends the wrong signal', the Bangkok Post reported that the Foreign Ministry's decision showed a lack of courage and independence and puts the country in a bad light.

The Dalai Lama's sister Jetsun Pema was scheduled to address the festival on the opening day on March 5.

A group of about 30 Tibetan exiles living in India were, however, issued visas to participate in the Festival of Tibetan Spirituality, Arts and Cultures.

Explaining the decision to refuse her a visa, a Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying, ''We don't want to be in the middle of international conflicts''.

''With the refusal, however, that is just what the Thai Foreign Ministry has positioned itself for, and unnecessarily so, the editorial observed.

''It is hard to see how the cultural festival could be seen as detrimental to China in any true sense of the word,'' it added.

Acknowledging that a subtext of the festival is likely to be that traditional Tibetan Culture and identity are being threatened by Chinese control, and that the Dalai Lama’s sister has a political role in the movement for an autonomous Tibet, the Post described the visa refusal as ''an extreme over-reaction to whatever pressure might have been coming from the Chinese government''.

''Being overly responsive to the political sensitivities of China or any other country is embarking on a slippery slope,'' it concluded.