Paris: Betrand Delanoe, mayor of the French capital, wants to make the Dalai Lama an honorary citizen of the city, a spokesperson for the mayor said on Thursday.

The move would be "to honour this fighter for peace and also to show fraternal solidarity with the Tibetan people," she said.

During the tumultuous passage of the Olympic torch through the French capital earlier this month, a large banner was displayed at City Hall reading, "Paris defends human rights everywhere in the world."

To avoid more turmoil around the torch, Chinese authorities abruptly cancelled a scheduled ceremony at City Hall and cut short the torch relay.

Paris currently counts five honorary citizens, including the kidnapped former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who has dual French-Colombian citizenship.

 

Source : IANS