South African PEN protests at SA Government treatment of Dalai Lama visa application

South African PEN is deeply concerned at the shameful manner in which the
South African Government has dealt with an application for a visa to attend
the private birthday party of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu by the
renowned Tibetan spiritual leader, Nobel peace prize laureate and author,
the Dalai Lama. The government's three month-long dallying over the
application under the pretence of ''considering'' it – a process that
normally takes a few days – has now resulted in the Dalai Lama being forced
to cancel his trip on the ground that he had not received a visa for travel
to South Africa.

South African PEN believes the government's conduct effectively amounts to a
South African – in this instance Desmond Tutu – being denied the enjoyment
of the constitutional rights of citizenship including the right of
association with a friend. The government which constantly claims to uphold
the right of its citizens to be treated with dignity and respect has shown
neither to Tutu nor to the Dalai Lama. Its refusal to explain the long delay
in considering the application, fobbing off criticism with a bland statement
implying that it was normal procedure, emphasises the indignity to which the
two men were treated and shows disdain for the South African public's right
to know why such conduct reminiscent of apartheid banning should have been
invoked in its name.

South Africa notes that the current Nobel peace prize laureate, the Chinese
writer, Liu Xiaobo is in custody and his wife is under virtual house arrest
and that several other writers in China remain in detention. While South
Africa's conduct is far removed from this extreme punishment, the failure to
grant the visa timeously suggests that the government shows similar intent
to prevent the Dalai Lama from having contact with friends and well-wishers.

There have been suggestions that the Government was influenced by either
pressure or other considerations involving its relations with the Chinese
government. The Government has denied this but South African PEN believes
that it would be totally unacceptable for the government to be influenced in
that way in regard to the issue of visas. The relations of South Africa with
other governments and foreign entities should be dealt with in terms of
constitutional values and the country's principled best interests.

Signed by

Anthony Fleischer, South African PEN President
Margie Orford, South African PEN Executive Vice-President
Raymond Louw, South African PEN Vice-President