Washington: Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived in the United States on his first foreign trip since China's crackdown on protests in the Himalayan territory that drew a global outcry.

The exiled 72-year-old saffron-clad leader flew into Seattle, the western coastal city in Washington state, yesterday for a five-day lecture series on spirituality but groups close to him did not rule out meetings with US politicians and discussions on the turmoil in Tibet.

The US House of Representatives and Senate on Wednesday passed separate resolutions condemning Beijing's crackdown in Tibet and calling on the Chinese government to begin a dialogue directly with the Dalai Lama.

The spiritual leader's 13-day US trip, which also includes visits to Michigan and New York, was "long planned, before the current crisis," said Mary Beth Markey, vice-president of the International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington-based group close to the Dalai Lama.

"But I can imagine that the issue of the current situation in Tibet, that would come up wherever he goes because that is such a compelling situation," said.

"It's also a possibility that he would meet with political figures because, for example, members of Congress from a particular area traditionally have the occasion of having the Dalai Lama in their home district, to have a private meeting," she said.

The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989,is scheduled to speak at the five-day "Seeds of Compassion" conference beginning Friday in Seattle where a large crowd is expected to attend.
Source : PTI