Dalai Lama issues apology after viral video sparks row
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Monday apologized to a boy, his family, and friends for the “hurt his words may have caused” after a video clip purportedly showing the Tibetan spiritual head asking him to “suck” his tongue sparked a row. In the two-minute-five-second video, the Dalai Lama also asked the child “to look at those good human beings who create peace, and happiness and not follow those who kill other people”.
A senior official said that since the Dalai Lama has diplomatic immunity, the government is examining what can be done in the matter. In a statement, the Tibetan spiritual head’s office said, “A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug. His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.”
“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident,” it added.
Dalai Lama tweeted his apology also:
— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) April 10, 2023
However, the Tibetan spiritual leader’s gesture was criticized by some child rights activists who said such actions cannot be “playful”. Bharati Ali, co-founder of HAQ Centre for Child Rights said: “We teach our children safe and unsafe touch and such actions send mixed signals and are confusing. Influential leaders like the Dalai Lama should contribute to building a safe environment and should not disrupt them by these actions.” Such actions cannot be considered to be “playful”, she said.
Child rights activist Enakshi Ganguly said the viral video of the Dalai Lama kissing a young boy is worrying, to say the least, but equally concerning are the videos which clearly identify the child, stigmatizing and violating him.
Several netizens also expressed disapproval of the action of the Dalai Lama. “This is not playful banter and so inappropriate to use ‘affectionately plants kiss’ alongside ‘suck my tongue’. Hugs are fine, not this. Don’t normalize molestation of kids,” one user said on Twitter.
Another netizen tweeted, “The dissonance of that Dalai Lama video is exactly what makes it possible for this kind of abuse to happen at the highest levels of spiritual leadership – no one wants to believe elevated people can behave this way. And so they do. And folks even laugh, watching. Now what?”
“You don’t do that to a child, it is not a joke and it is not funny. This is not a tease, this is not funny,” another netizen tweeted.
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