Dalai Lama Representative 'Disappointed' With Estonian Statement
The head of Tibet's administration in London, Thubten Samdup, said he is disappointed with what was interpreted as Estonia's apology to China over a Dalai Lama visit three years ago.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said this week that Estonian relations with the People's Republic of China have been reset after three years of chillier interactions following the visit of the Tibetan spiritual leader.
In a letter to head of the head of the Estonian Institute of Buddhism, Sven Grünberg, Samdup said he has told everyone that the Baltic nations will never give up support for the people of Tibet.
He said the Baltic states and Poland have, in northern Europe, been the most friendly towards Tibet. “I also understand that more and more nations wish to improve relations with China for economic reasons. The Chinese are very smart and they use their economic clout and it works, at the expense of us,” he said.
“We expressed regret that in recent years Estonian-Chinese relations have not been what they could have been and should be,” Paet said.
The Dalai Lama has visited Estonia three times, in 1991, 2001 and 2011.