by NEW DELHI (AP) — The head of the Tibetan government-in-exile defended the Dalai Lama on Thursday over footage of him asking a child to suck his tongue, saying the incident had shown the spiritual leader’s innocent and caring side.
The Nobel peace laureate has apologized after footage from a public event, which also apparently shows him kissing the boy on the lips, went viral, sparking a wave of comments on social media that his behavior amounted to to abuse.
Penpa Tsering, the Sikyong (political leader) of the Central Tibetan Administration in exile, said the Dalai Lama had been “unfairly labeled with all kinds of names that really hurt the feelings of all his followers.”
The “innocent grandfather’s caring behaviour” of the 87-year-old man shown in the footage was misconstrued, Tsering told reporters in New Delhi, adding that a life of celibacy and spiritual practice had pushed the Dalai Lama “beyond sensory pleasures”.
The video clip, filmed in February and released this month, has been viewed more than a million times on Twitter.
Tsering said investigations showed “pro-Chinese sources” were involved in making it go viral, adding that “the political angle of this incident cannot be ignored.”
Officials at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi were not immediately available for comment.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. The Chinese army entered and took control in 1951.
He has worked for decades to garner worldwide support for language and cultural autonomy in his remote, mountainous homeland between India and China.
Beijing has accused him of fomenting separatism and does not recognize the Tibetan government-in-exile, which represents some 100,000 Tibetans living in some 30 countries.
