Dalai Lama snubbed

China considers the Dalai Lama a separatist

The United Nations has come under fire after Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was excluded from an international religious summit.

More than 1,000 religious leaders have been invited to the UN-backed Millennium World Peace Summit which will be held in New York this month.

But the Tibetan Buddhist leader, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been left out because of pressure from China.

In a letter to UN General Secretary, fellow Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the exclusion was "a disgraceful decision".

China

Tashi Wangdi, a minister in the Tibetan government in exile, said the decision was clearly made at the behest of the Chinese authorities.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has complained to the UN

"His Holiness is recognised by the world as one of the leading religious leaders," Mr Wangdi told the French AFP news agency.

"When he is excluded it undermines the credibility of the conference and the image of the United Nations," he added.

"It is wrong for such a conference to be politicised and the UN to be weak and give in to pressure."

'Weak-kneed'

China regards Tibet as part of its territory and views the Dalai Lama as a separatist leader.

The summit will be held at the UN General Assembly

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

He continues to campaign for Tibetan rights from India where the government in exile is based.

United States Senator Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also accused the UN of being "weak-kneed".

And a spokesman for the US ambassador to the UN, Richard Holbrooke, said the exclusion should be rectified immediately.

Outrage

The meeting of world religious leaders at the UN is the first of its kind.

Although the UN is not an official sponsor, the event has been organised under its authority and the first two days will be held in the UN General Assembly chamber.

This is a summit for peace - it's not about political issues

Bawa Jain

The secretary general of the summit, Bawa Jain, said he would love the Dalai Lama to attend, but the Chinese had objected from the outset.

Mr Jain said he had consulted with the Dalai Lama who had told him the conference was too important to jeopardise and to go ahead without him.

He said the Dalai Lama had been invited to give the key notes speech at a hotel at the end of the summit, but had declined because of scheduling difficulties.

Delegates attending the four-day event, which begins on 28 August, will discuss world conflicts and religious initiatives to resolve them.

The Chinese ambassador to the UN could not be reached for comment.