Nobel Peace Prize winners to meet in SA without Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama was to have attended and to have met with the South African prize winners, but according to IOL, in a controversial move, President Kgalema Motlanthe has denied the spiritual leader a visa and both Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former president FW de Klerk are threatening to boycott the event if the Dalai Lama's visa is not granted.

“It would not be in the interests of the country to invite the Dalai Lama to South Africa at this stage, because the attention of the whole world is on us as the host of 2010 FIFA World Cup,” IOL quotes Motlanthe as saying. "The presence of the Dalai Lama here will divert such attention from us to other issues."

Focus on football

The Peace Conference will focus on how football, and in particular 2010, is a political tool that can generate peace and harmony. The conference will conclude with a friendly football match between Bafana Bafana and Norway at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

"We are honoured and privileged to host an event of this magnitude and calibre of people involved," said Irvin Khoza, the 2010 Local Organising Committee chairman.

"Soccer has played a huge role in bringing unity to South Africa and now more than ever we must show our responsibility as a nation, as a soccer family, and as a host of the world cup. The event must be the most peaceful world cup in its history with people from all nations intermingling in harmony as guests of South Africa."

Medallions

SA heroes Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk join the ranks of other past and present Peace Prize laureates, such as Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Theresa and Eli Wiesel.

To celebrate the laureates' contribution to mankind, the Mint of Norway has produced Nobel Peace Prize medallions in honour of them in their Laureates Programme, including statesmen such as Mikhail Gorbachev and Theodor Roosevelt.

The Mint of Norway developed the exclusive series of medallions some 10 years ago. Each issue is approved by the winner and/or his or her organisation and a percentage of the proceeds are donated to the winner's chosen foundation or a charity. To date, R5 million in royalties has been earned by the Nobel Institute, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the De Klerk Foundation through sales generated by The South African Gold Coin Exchange and the 14 Scoin Shops, and the hope is that it will be ploughed back into the community.

For more:

• Bizcommunity.com: Dalai Lama ban has backfired on Government