JOHANNESBURG (NNN-Bernama): The Dalai Lama will receive the Mahatman Gandhi peace prize at the annual Satyagraha Awards, which will be held at the Durban City Hall
The legendary Indian leader's granddaughter Ela Gandhi, who announced on Sunday in conjunction with Gandhi Jayanti celebration, urged the South African government to grant a visa to the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit the country and receive the award.
The event is one of several public invitations that the Dalai Lama has accepted during a proposed South African visit this week, amid concern that the South African government may not grant him a visa under Chinese pressure.
The visit was prompted by an invitation from fellow Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the Dalai Lama to join him for his 80th birthday celebrations on Friday.
Denying that the visa was being delayed due to a visit toSouth Africa's biggest trading partner China by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe last week, South African authorities said the visa was still "under consideration" on Friday, less than a week before the start of his visit.
The Dalai Lama had previously been refused a visa in 2009.
Expressing the hope that the visa would be issued in time, Ela Gandhi said:
"Since he is a spiritual head and not a political one, there should be no problem issuing the Dalai Lama with a visa," she said.
In Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand in conjunction with the Gandhi Centenary Committee, One Young World and Afrika Tikkun has invited the Dalai Lama to talk on 'Non-Violence in the New Century: The Way Forward.'
"We would encourage the South African government not to silence the voice of the Dalai Lama. We should welcome the opportunity to host him in South Africa
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