Seattle: Beginning his first US appearance since China's crackdown on demonstrations in Tibet, the Dalai Lama opened a conference in Seattle with no mention of the situation in his homeland, instead welcoming what he said was a new scientific interest in human emotion.

By contrast, the conference's co-founder Dan Kranzler alluded to Tibet, telling the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader on stage, "The world knows the truth."

Event organizers maintain that Seeds of Compassion conference is essentially non-political. The first event yesterday, a dialogue between scientists and the Dalai Lama about early childhood development and compassion, went smoothly. There were no demonstrators.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader began his US tour amid continuing turmoil in Tibet and increasingly loud protests following the Olympic torch's passage to Beijing.

Yesterday, the Olympic torch arrived in Buenos Aires, its only South American stop of its world tour. Protesters are expected to try to disrupt the torch s journey through a 14-kilometer route in the Argentinian capital.

The Dalai Lama's arrival in Seattle on Thursday was uneventful. He said he was saddened by the Olympic torch's trip through San Francisco, where thousands of protesters disrupted the Olympic torch's tour, but voiced support for non-violent demonstrations.

He arrived for the session last morning under heavy security with police on foot, motorcycles and horses. The only demonstrator outside the gathering site held a sign reading, "Free Taiwan, then Tibet."

Organizers of the five-day Seeds of Compassion conference in Seattle say the Dalai Lama's visit is expected to draw more than 150,000 people. An estimated 7,000 people attended the opening session.

Source : PTI