A representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama said his visit to Idaho for the World Winter Games was canceled due to anticipated pressure from the Chinese government.
Lobsang Nyandak, the Dalai Lama's representative in New York, said in a prepared statement sent to the Idaho Mountain Express on Thursday that the Idaho visit had initially been planned with "much hesitation from his advisors."
The Office of Tibet, the official agency of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile, "anticipated pressure from the Chinese government and cautioned the organizers in time," Nyandak wrote. During the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai last year, the pressure from China on the Dalai Lama mounted.
Finally, Nyandak said, the organizers of the World Winter games in Boise suggested a rescheduled visit for the Dalai Lama, but it conflicted with previous plans he had already made.
"The organizers, at the end, decided not to invite His Holiness (to) the opening ceremony," Nyandak said.
But an official statement from Special Olympics World Winter Games President and COO Brady Lum states, "the invitation was still open when the Dalai Lama unfortunately decided he could not attend."
"Although regrettable, we respect this decision and hope that this inspirational leader will be able to celebrate Special Olympics with us at a future event," the release stated.
Both statements were in response to a letter printed Wednesday, Jan. 21, in the Idaho Mountain Express from Sara Bronfman, a part-time resident of Sun Valley, regarding the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Her letter stated that the Dalai Lama was "disinvited to this event by no fault of his own."
"If it is true His Holiness the Dalai Lama was disinvited to this event by no fault of his own, I will feel it necessary to formally resign from the honorary board and personally boycott the games," Bronfman wrote. "I do this not as a stand against the Special Olympics, but rather as a stand for the values I hoped to uphold when I chose to support this organization and my friends Pirie and Jim Grossman."
Lum's statement referred to "a deep misunderstanding about this situation" evident in Bronfman's letter.
The Grossmans declined to comment.
Dana DuGan: ddugan@mtexpress.com
The Dalai Lama, seen here in a visit to Ketchum
