Washington: President Barack Obama on Thursday hailed the Dalai Lama as a "good friend" at a first public encounter between the two men that is sure to infuriate Beijing.
"I want to offer a special welcome to a good friend," Obama said at a high-profile prayer breakfast, addressing the Tibetan monk who is reviled by China as a separatist.
On Thursday President Obama and the Dalai Lama were both in attendance at a high-profile Washington breakfast, but it was unclear if they would meet, despite Obama's open declaration of their friendship. Any encounter would certainly draw the ire of China.
Thursday's National Prayer Breakfast, a high-profile gathering of political and religious leaders, was drawing some 3,600 U.S. and international leaders and criticism from China, which considers the Dalai Lama a separatist because of his quest for greater Tibetan autonomy. Outside the hotel, hundreds of protesters gathered in the predawn darkness waving Tibetan flags.
Obama was seated at the head table with other speakers for the annual hourlong discussion on faith that brings together leaders from different parties and religions. The Dalai Lama was seated in the audience, directly in front of the dais, with actor Richard Gere and top Obama aide Valerie Jarrett.
The Dalai Lama spoke Wednesday at a luncheon closed to the media. But the White House downplayed the prospect of any official engagement meeting between the fellow Nobel Peace Prize winners.
The Dalai Lama, wrapping up a three-day visit to Washington, plans to speak later Thursday at a dialogue between Buddhists and Muslims on peaceful coexistence. Also expected are prominent American Muslims and a representative of Iraq's most prominent Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
China protested each of Obama's three meetings with the Dalai Lama, which were always held privately without any news coverage because of the sensitivity of the encounter. But President George W. Bush ignored furious Chinese objections when he presented the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal at the Capitol Rotunda in 2007.
Last year at the prayer breakfast, Obama criticized China for failing to protect religious freedom. When meeting with Chinese leaders, he said, "I stress that realizing China's potential rests on upholding universal rights, including for Christians and Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims."
National Security Council spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Obama plans to speak on the importance of upholding religious freedoms again this year. The message will undoubtedly be underscored by the Dalai Lama's presence.
"The president is a strong supporter of the Dalai Lama's teachings and preserving Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic traditions," Ventrell said.
China warned once again that it would strongly oppose any country's leader meeting with the Dalai Lama, who fled to exile in India after a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, and regard it as interference in China's internal affairs.
Jordan's King Abdullah II canceled his plans to attend the breakfast. Islamic State militants released a video this week showing a Jordanian pilot being burned to death. Organizers said a stand-in for the king will read the New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan, who saved a stranger who had been beaten and left for dead.
