BEIJING: The Dalai Lama is canceling a planned trip to Belgium this week
after China pressured Brussels to bar the exiled leader of Tibet, Tibetan
activists said Wednesday.

In a statement to be publicly released later Wednesday, the Dalai Lama said
he decided not to attend a gathering of Tibetan groups in Brussels on Friday
to save Belgium any trouble. The statement - an extract of which was shown
to The Associated Press - did not specify the pressure China exerted but
connected it to an upcoming China tour by Belgium's crown prince.

"The Belgian government shared with me their predicament on account of
pressure from the People's Republic of China," the Dalai Lama's statement
said. "Having considered the situation, I have decided not to visit Brussels
this time."

Beijing has for years mounted an aggressive lobbying campaign against the
Dalai Lama, seeking to deny international legitimacy to the Nobel Peace
Prize winner and undermine his enduring popularity in Chinese-controlled
Tibet.

Both Russia and South Korea have prohibited the Dalai Lama from even
transiting their countries in deference to Beijing.

Like many European countries, Belgium is actively seeking ways to boost
trade with the world's fastest-growing large economy, and Crown Prince
Philippe is expected to head a 300-member trade delegation to Beijing next
week.

The European Union, of which Belgium is a member, is also scheduled to a
hold a routine dialogue on human rights with Beijing next week.

Belgium's ambassador to Beijing, Bernard Pierre, declined to confirm that
Brussels had come under Chinese pressure and referred inquiries to the
Belgian Foreign Ministry. But he said the Dalai Lama's cancellation was
expected.

"It is a sovereign decision by the Dalai Lama," Pierre said.

Supporters of the Dalai Lama and critics of China's often harsh rule over
Tibet, however, took issue with Belgium for not living up to European
standards on human rights.

"It is indefensible that Belgium, a founding member of the European Union,
should acquiesce to China in its attempts to silence the Dalai Lama, one of
the world's greatest men of peace," Mary Beth Markey of the Washington-based
International Campaign for Tibet said in a statement.