South Africa Bars Dalai LamaUpdate, Meeting Cancelled

Well, they have come a long way from Nelson Mandela

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- South Africa says it has barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference later this week, citing its relationship with China and saying now is not the time for such a high-profile visit.

Thabo Masebe, spokesman for President Kgalema Motlanthe, told The Associated Press Monday that the decision was made last month and communicated to the organizers of the conference.

South African football officials organized the conference to highlight the first World Cup to be held in Africa, in South Africa in 2010. The organizers have support from the Nobel Committee, and plan for Nobel laureates and others to discuss issues ranging from anti-racism to sport as a way to bring peoples and nations together.

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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- South Africa has refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend an international peace conference in Johannesburg this week, a presidential spokesman said.

The Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Laureate did not receive a visa because it was not in South Africa's interest for him to attend, said Thabo Masebe.

South Africa thinks that, if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup -- the global soccer championship it will host next year.

"We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet," Masebe said, adding that South Africa has gained much from its trading relationship with China.

The Dalai Lama's fellow laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said he would boycott the event.Former president F.W. De Klerk, another laureate, backed Tutu, saying in a statement that he would also not participate in the conference if the Dalai Lama remained excluded.

De Klerk said that the decision to refuse the visa made a "mockery" of the peace conference.

Considering South Africa's behavior with Mugabe is this a surprise.

It appears the mockery has made them change their minds

(CNN) -- An international peace conference in Johannesburg has been cancelled after South Africa refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the event.

Announcing the postponement at a news conference Tuesday, Irvin Khosa, chairman of the South African football league, did not offer an explanation.

A presidential spokesman, Thabo Masebe, said little.South Africa has made this decision," he said. "We stand by the decision."The peace conference had been scheduled to start Friday. Officials said they would like to have a conference in the future, but they did not offer a specific date.