By DPA,
Ljubljana: Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, began Tuesday a three-day visit to Slovenia during which he said he would not meet with top political officials.
The Dalai Lama held a lecture on ethics for the new millennium in Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia, before an audience of 4,000. Before the lecture, he planted a Himalayan birch in a city park, calling it “a tree of peace”.
The lecture was the highlight of the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s stay in Slovenia. Unlike a previous visit in 2002, the Dalai Lama said he did not want to meet with politicians.
“I came to speak to ordinary people, not politicians,” he said.
He nevertheless was due to meet the mayor of Maribor and Janez Jansa, the former prime minister and opposition leader.
The Chinese embassy in Slovenia protested against the Dalai Lama’s visit, according to media reports. China accuses him of rooting for the secession of Tibet, which China considers part of its territory.