World Tibet Network News Thursday, May 14, 1998

MADISON, May 13, 1998 (AP) -- India should not be pressured by developed nations to get rid of its nuclear weapons, the Dalai Lama said Wednesday.

India has proved it is no longer an underdeveloped nation, and it should have the same access to nuclear weapons as developed countries, the 1989 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize said.

Although the Dalai Lama stressed that he continues to work for peace and nuclear disarmament, he said that developed nations should not tell Third World countries what to do with their weapons.

"I think nuclear weapons are too dangerous. Therefore, we have to make every effort for the elimination of nuclear weapons," the Dalai Lama said in a news conference. "However, the assumption of the concept that few nations are OK to possess nuclear weapons and the rest of the world should not -- that's undemocratic."

The Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of Tibet's Buddhists who lives in India, also said he was sure that India would join in complete nuclear disarmament if other nations did the same. India set off two more underground nuclear explosions Wednesday, the fifth since Monday. President Clinton has ordered tough new sanctions as punishment for the test blasts in an effort to stop a new nuclear arms race.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama to rule Tibet, was in Madison to speak to the state Legislature on the final leg of a two-week U.S. tour.

The Dalai Lama, now 62, was forced to leave his isolated homeland after China took control of the nation in the 1950s.

The Dalai Lama told lawmakers in a speech that he continues to work for the freedom of Tibet through negotiations. He said that if Tibet gains its freedom, it probably will become a democracy.

The story has been told in two motion pictures in the past year, "Seven Years in Tibet," starring Brad Pitt, and "Kundun," directed by Martin Scorsese. Both portray the brutality of the military takeover that forced the Dalai Lama to flee.

The Dalai Lama got a standing ovation from a crowd of about 600 before and after his speech to the Legislature. Throngs of people followed him as he walked the halls of the Capitol.

He signed autographs and made small talk. He also took time out to bless Alison Sullivan, a 15-year-old Milwaukee girl who uses a wheelchair because of a neurological disorder.

"That's part of the reason we came here, to be in contact with him," said Michael Sullivan, Alison's father.

The Dalai Lama also delivered a lecture Wednesday night at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's basketball arena. An estimated 13,000 people attended the event.

He told the crowd that world peace can be achieved through compassion, and he also said that a future Dalai Lama could be a woman. All 14 so far have been men.

He delivered his speech while seated in an easy chair, with help of an interpreter at times. Seated nearby was UW-Madison Chancellor David Ward.