SNP is putting self interest before human rights - Rennie #dontpandatoChina

First Minister Alex Salmond loves to meet international dignitaries and world leaders. Every chance he gets, he's off playing a larger than life role on the international stage. Just last weekend, he was in Los Angeles promoting Scottish business and schmoozing with celebrities at  a film premiere.  It's all the more surprising, then, that he can't find a space in his diary to meet the Dalai Lama when he visits Scotland this week. This is in stark contrast to the reception the exiled Tibetan Spiritual Leader received in 2004 when he addressed the Parliament and met the then First Minister and other party leaders. Just today, the Dalai Lama has addressed a meeting in the Westminster Parliament. David Cameron and Nick Clegg are away at the G20 and Rio+20 but they met him last month and just put up with the inevitable strop from the Chinese Government.

Could it be that Salmond's discourtesy has something to do with a visit he  received at Bute House two weeks ago from the Chinese Consul-General as reported in The Times (£). We know from reports in the Independent and the Courier  that the Chinese authorities have been visiting local councils from Leeds to Inverness  to discuss their involvement in the Dalai Lama's visit. Only SNP-run Dundee City Council and the First Minister seem to have taken any notice of them. The Lord Provost has apparently suffered a bereavement and is unable to attend the Dalai Lama's event, but the Council has thus far failed to provide a replacement speaker.

Liberal Democrat stalwart and former Scottish Chief Executive Andy Myles described Salmond's decision as cynical realpolitik and political cowardice, adding:

On behalf of Scotland, I want my First Minister to offer honour and succour and support to a man who leads his people, in exile, through a very real and terrible destruction of their way of life by a supposed neighbour nation. He does it, also, by advocating non-violence. He should be respected and supported by the SNP, as much, if not more than, anybody else. He is a true fighter for freedom. So why the cold shoulder?

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has urged Alex Salmond and Dundee City Council to meet the Dalai Lama and not to pander to the Chinese authorities.

This is a missed opportunity. By failing to meet with the globally respected spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate the First Minister may leave the impression that he is more concerned with pandering to the diktat of the Chinese government than promoting human rights. We ignore China’s human rights record at our peril. I appreciate that China would be sensitive about such a meeting but the First Minister should stand up for what’s important.
Last week we saw the First Minister continue to defend Mr Murdoch’s Empire. This week we are seeing his obsession with powerful people continue.
Dundee City Council need to speak at and fully support the event or we will conclude they have been nobbled by the Chinese government. The SNP have put their interests above human rights.

Amnesty Scotland have said that " it seems that economics trump human rights when it comes to Scotland's growing relationship with the world's second largest economy."

A Facebook page has been set up for those who want to urge the Scottish Government to officially welcome the Dalai Lama and you can also tweet your views using the hashtag #dontpandatoChina which refers to the two pandas currently on loan to Edinburgh Zoo from China.

It seems strange that Alex Salmond, who will be in Scotland while the Dalai Lama is visiting, cannot find the time to meet him. Scotland prides itself on being country committed to democracy and human rights and we expect our First Minister to reflect those values.

Amnesty Scotland disappointed that Scottish Government is not meeting Dalai Lama #dontpandatoChina

I asked on Monday why on earth Alex Salmond wouldn't meet the Dalai Lama. It now seems worse than I had anticipated as Dundee City Council have gone at best lukewarm over an event they were supposed to be full partners in. It appears that the Chinese Consul-General has sent the boys round, not only to Bute House, but to Edinburgh, Dundee and Highland Council too, to express their displeasure.

Amnesty Scotland's director, Shabnum Mustapha, has issued this statement today, expressing Amnesty's concern over the Scottish Government and Dundee Council's snubs to the Tibetan Spiritual Leader:

It is appalling and very worrying if Dundee City Council has ‘withdrawn’ its support for the Dalai Lama’s visit to its city due to pressure from the Chinese Government.

Amnesty has again and again highlighted China’s questionable human rights record, including its continued restriction on freedom of expression – and it seems that this censorship has now reached our shores. To think that our own publicly-elected officials would bow to pressure of this kind is unthinkable, and we would urge Dundee City Council to reconsider their decision.
It is also very disappointing that it appears no-one from the Scottish Government, including the First Minister, is able to welcome the Dalai Lama as he embarks on his visit to Scotland.

His visit to our country should serve as yet another opportunity for our government to put the spotlight on human rights abuses in China. Instead it seems that economics trump human rights when it comes to Scotland's growing relationship with the world's second largest economy.

The Scottish Government should be welcoming this opportunity to support the Dalai Lama, an important spiritual figure who symbolises the movement for non-violent self-determination for an oppressed people.

Throughout China, freedom of expression continues to be restricted by the authorities and re-education through labour camps continue to operate. And the Chinese government has displayed increasingly repressive behaviour in ethnic minority areas such as Tibet.

Why will Alex Salmond not meet the Dalai Lama?

We are all used to seeing Alex Salmond jetting off round the world to meet foreign dignitaries. He's off to California soon, Hollywood no less, among other places, to "promote Scotland's interests". He's at a film premiere tonight, mixing with the rich and famous - as he seems to like doing. Let's not forget his mates Murdoch, Connery and Brian Souter and his former bff Donald Trump. Our globe-trotting First Minister has also been to China, the Gulf States and Norway in the past year. If he's bringing the money in by promoting Scottish products to foreign businesses, then fair enough, I suppose.It would be good to have a balance sheet on that so we can judge for ourselves, though.

Given that Salmond is so keen to meet anyone he can, it's quite perplexing that he can't find the time to meet the Dalai Lama during his forthcoming visit to Scotland. You have to ask yourself why. Could it be anything to do with the fact that such a meeting would upset the Chinese? I would be disappointed if that were the case. I have a pretty good hunch that he backs the rights of the people of Tibet to self determination. David Cameron and Nick Clegg took some grief from the Chinese over their meetings with the Dalai Lama so why shouldn't Salmond do the same?

Salmond will be back from his US trip while the Dalai Lama is here. It would be good if he could find a space in his diary to spend some time with him.

Willie Rennie certainly seems to think so. Yesterday he said:

This is a missed opportunity. By failing to meet with the globally respected spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate the First Minister may leave the impression that he is more concerned with pandering to the diktat of the Chinese government than promoting human rights.  We ignore China’s human rights record at our peril.  I appreciate that China would be sensitive about such a meeting but the First Minister should stand up for what’s important. People from across Scotland have waited six years to meet with His Holiness. The cities of Dundee, Edinburgh and Inverness have all noted their enthusiasm towards welcoming him into their streets and town halls.
 Either Mr Salmond has completely misjudged the importance of this event, or he has shown once more that he is too afraid of “rocking the boat.” Last week we saw the First Minister continue to defend Mr Murdoch’s Empire. This week we are seeing his obsession with powerful people continue. I call upon the First Minister to recognise that it is in Scotland’s best interests for him to honour this historic event and show respect for his position by meeting with the Dalai Lama

If Salmond does not meet the Dalai Lama, it could be construed, not least by the Chinese themselves, as panda-ing to them a subject I wrote about when our furry zoo friends were first announced. I'm  reminded of what Shabnum Mustapha, Director of Amnesty Scotland, said when Salmond was in China at the tail end of last year - that, yes, the Chinese would have the diplomatic equivalent of a bit of a strop when human rights were mentioned, but there was evidence that repression did reduce as a result. Offending the Chinese authorities is therefore not a bad thing to do, whether it's about the Dalai Lama or human rights.