Dalai Lama to meet Desmond Tutu

Dharamsala, Feb 9 (IANS) Two Nobel laureates and long-time friends -- Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai lama and South African anti-apartheid icon archbishop Desmond Tutu - will come face to face in this north Indian hill station Saturday.

An official of the Dalai Lama's office told IANS that a public ceremony welcoming Tutu will be held Friday morning.

In October, the globe-trotter monk had called off his South Africa trip as it was 'inconvenient' for the government there to grant him a visa as it had close ties with China.

He was invited by Tutu on the latter's 80th birthday.

The Nobel laureates then came face-to-face through a video link on the day of celebrations.

The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India since he fled Tibet during a failed uprising in 1959. He favours 'greater autonomy' for Tibetans rather than complete independence.

Chinese leaders have, however, called him a separatist who wants Tibet to secede from China.

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