Dharamshala: Tibet's political and spiritual leader, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama will commence his three-day visit to Slovenia's second-largest city on April 5, a week earlier than initially scheduled, said organizers of the event in Maribor on Tuesday.
The 74-year-old Tibetan Nobel laureate was expected to visit Slovenia between April 12-14 with a scheduled a trip to the capitol Ljubljana, but Maribor Municipal authorities announced that the visit had been moved forward.
They said the Buddhist monk would not travel to Ljubljana, nor would he meet with government officials. His visit would now be limited to meetings with city mayor and students.
His Holiness will be going to Slovenia at an invitation from the Maribor University, the city's authorities and a secondary school to deliver a lecture to young people on humanitarian issues. He will also deliver a public talk on ‘Ethics for the New Millennium’ at the Daily Life Center in Maribor.
During his earlier visit in 2002, the Buddhist monk met unofficially with several high-ranking Slovenian politicians, including the prime minister.
China, which labels His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a “separatist”, has routinely warned world leaders against meeting with him. It has regularly opposed countries that agree to a visit with the Tibetan leader, in some cases expressing its disagreement through economic and diplomatic overtures.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Slovenia comes ahead of his three-day visit to Switzerland, where he will participate in the “XX Mind and Life Conference” from April 9 to 11 at the Congress Center Zurich.
While in Zurich, the Tibetan leader will also address the First European Tibetan Youth Parliament during a one-hour session. Organizers have announced that the Tibetan leader will address the conference and will respond to questions from the participants.
