Political Quotes

“I welcome to Washington today one of the most honorable and respected leaders of our time, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His Holiness is a historical rarity, someone who has devoted his entire life to finding a peaceful solution to an overwhelmingly difficult political problem with an often belligerent foe. China invaded Tibet in 1949, under the banner of ``peaceful liberation,'' but the presence of the People's Liberation Army in Tibet since then has been neither peaceful nor liberating. The Tibetan people continue to suffer repression under the too-often violent control of an outside power. But the Dalai Lama's response has been unswervingly one of seeking a peaceful solution to Tibet's conflict with China. His Holiness' courage and leadership is widely respected in Tibet and has assuredly prevented the Tibetans from staging a violent uprising or insurgency, the response that suppressed people without such moral leadership often take. In accepting his Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, His Holiness showed the world how all-encompassing his call for peace and compassion was when he said he felt no ``anger or hatred toward those who are responsible for the immense suffering of our people and the destruction of our land, homes, and culture.”