Prague, Oct 28 (CTK) – Prague councillor Jana Plaminkova (Mayors and Independents, STAN) has proposed that honorary citizenship of the City of Prague be granted to the Tibetan Dalai Lama, STAN said in a press release on Friday.
The Dalai Lama visited the Czech Republic last week and he met some Czech politicians. China, whose part Tibet is, threatened that such meetings may worsen the Chinese-Czech relations and cooperation.
The 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, visited the Czech Republic several times and he had close relations with late president Vaclav Havel. Last week, he took part the annual Forum 2000 conference that Havel initiated.
STAN said the honorary citizenship would appreciate the special relation that the Dalai Lama has to the Czech Republic.
In reaction to a meeting that a government minister had with the Dalai Lama, President Milos Zeman, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and the speakers of the two houses of parliament issued a statement saying the Czech Republic fully respects China’s territorial integrity.
Many Czech politicians and other public figures condemned this statement as servile.
The Dalai Lama, 80, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his rejection of violence. China claims that he is a separatist fighting for Tibet’s independence, which he denies. Beijing, which considers Tibet an inseparable part of Chinese territory, has long criticised meetings of statesmen with the Dalai Lama.
