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Dalai Lama Calls War 'Legalized Violence'

Posted on: Sunday, 21 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

The Dalai Lama called war "legalized violence" and said Sunday he wished he had visited Iraq and pushed for a better dialogue between countries before the war started in an effort to avert it.

In a speech to thousands of people in Central Park and later in an interview with The Associated Press, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader stressed the importance of compassion and peace. He said war is an outdated concept in a global society, and people should instead learn to communicate.

"We have to make every effort to promote human affection," the Dalai Lama said. "While we oppose violence or war, we must show there is another way - a nonviolent way."

He said in an interview he regretted not following the example of his fellow Nobel Peace laureates, Nelson Mandela and President Carter, who visited Iraq before the war. He said maybe together they would have been able to avoid war.

"Violence is very unpredictable," the Dalai Lama said. "Although your motivations may be sincere, violence ... easily can be out of control."

New York was the last stop of a five-city tour for the Dalai Lama. He visited San Francisco, Bloomington, Ind., Washington, D.C., and Boston, and has met with President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, members of Congress and scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in 1959 after a revolt against Chinese rule over his country failed. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for nonviolent resistance to Chinese rule.

His last tour of the United States was in 1999. He spoke in Central Park then, to an audience of more than 40,000.

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