4th October 2011

Another pretty crappy day, trying to fathom people. Guess I been doing that since 5.36 last Wednesday.............

This is the darkest day - Tutu centre

The Dalai Lama's cancellation on Tuesday of his trip to South Africa was a “dark day”, the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre said. “He said he feels it is clearly inconvenient for the government,” the centre's spokeswoman Nomfundo Wazala said. “I do not even have the words to say how sad I feel. This is the darkest day. Our officials felt it was not even important to respond to his application.”

The Dalai Lama applied for a visa to South Africa in August to attend the birthday celebrations of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, a friend and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner, on Friday.

But on Monday, the South African government had yet to announce a decision, prompting speculation it would refuse him entry for fear of offending China.

AFP reported on Tuesday that he had cancelled his trip.

It quoted the Dalai Lama's office in India as saying: “His Holiness was to depart for South Africa on October 6, 2011 but visas have not been granted yet.”