Dharamshala: Beijing has pressured Mongolia into denying permits for CTA representatives who were formerly scheduled to participate in the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace in Mongolia starting Friday.
Kalon [Minister] of Department of Religion and Culture, Venerable Karma Gelek Yuthok and other representatives from the Central Tibetan Administration’s Religion and Culture department who were expected to participate in the Asian Buddhist Conference were denied visa at the very last moment.
Speaking exclusively to Tibet News Bureau, Kalon Ven Karma Gelek said the unfortunate development was the clearest sign yet of China’s aggressive campaign of undermining core democratic freedoms across the world, and even hampering the basic exercises of other countries through severe political intimidation.
“The forced cancellation of our participation as representatives of one of the greatest contributors to the Buddhist tradition worldwide poses serious questions. Even more so, in the light that China itself is home to the largest Buddhist population in the world,” the Religion and Culture Kalon said.
Describing the incident as alarming and worrying, he said such cases should prompt the countries in questions to stand up and defend their core freedom and democratic principles instead of capitulating to it.
The Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace was founded in 1970 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a voluntary movement of followers of Buddha, both monks and lay, striving to disseminate and implement the teachings of the Enlightened One on peace and harmony, compassion and loving-kindness for all sentient beings on Earth.
It aims to “bring together efforts of Buddhists in support of consolidating universal peace, harmony, and cooperation among the Asian countries and its people.”
Tibetan Buddhist representatives from the different schools including Jhonang are participating in the Conference.