Dalai Lama in Belfast

The Dalai Lama's three-day visit to Northern Ireland has begun. The spiritual leader of Tibet has been invited to the international seminar "The Path to Peace", which is taking place in Belfast.

The Dalai Lama will meet with politicians, religious leaders and those who have personally experienced all the troubles of the thirty-year conflict between Protestants and Catholics. These years were not cloudless for the Dalai Lama either. He spent them in exile, leaving Tibet after its occupation by Chinese troops.

Along with Catholic and Protestant figures, the Dalai Lama will travel to Springfield Street in north Belfast, which divided warring sides during the conflict, and symbolically walk through the "gate of peace". Then the workshop participants will plant a tree of peace.

The Dalai Lama will give a public lecture in Belfast, organized by the human rights organization Amnesty International. The spiritual leader of Tibet will be awarded an honorary degree from the University of Ulster. He will also meet with fellow Tibetans who live in Northern Ireland. Tibetan exiles are now scattered all over the world.