The decision to postpone the South Africa Peace Conference follows
demands for its cancellation as leaders and political bodies protested
at the government's decision.
The conveners of the South Africa Peace Conference have decided to
postpone the conference that was to have been held at the Constitution
Hill on Friday 27 March 2009 as a result of the controversy surrounding
the participation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, organizers of
the event said.
Given that the purpose of the conference is peace, the conveners do
not wish to put the Nobel Peace Committee under circumstances that
would create conflict between the committee and its laureates. The
conveners have therefore decided – in the spirit of peace – to postpone
the South Africa Peace Conference to ensure it is held under conducive
conditions.
They argued that the Dalai Lama's sole visit was to participate in the
conference and there were no public engagements lined up for him.
Every care was taken by the conveners in ensuring a timeous and
careful following of a process of invitations, confirmations and
logistical arrangements involving all stakeholders. The conference
guidelines to the participants clearly stipulated that the only purpose
of their visit to South Africa would be for the purposes of
participation in the conference and not any other public engagements as
these could take away from the purpose for which the conference was
intended. From the conceptualisation through the planning and
invitation right up to the logistical protocol phase the conveners
ensured the relevant state organs were fully briefed and involved.
The South African government however stood by its decision.
This was done for fear that his attendance will take away from the
intended purpose of the peace conference, letting it to be hijacked by
the Tibet issue, said Thabo Masebe, spokesperson for the Presidency.
Apart from the Dalai Lama, the latest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize,
Martti Ahtisaari, and the entire Nobel Committee and the South African
Laureates were expected to attend.
South Africa's Hollywood-princess, Charlize Theron, the newly appointed
United Nations Peace Ambassador, was lined up to participate at the
conference while Morgan Freeman, who will play the role of Nelson
Mandela in a movie about the life of the world renowned statesman, was
supposed to co-host a Gala dinner with Theron.