Update | South African Nobel Peace Prize summit scrapped over Dalai Lama visa snub
Mayor blames 'intransigence' as laureates accuse South Africa of selling its sovereignty to China
Cape Town's mayor yesterday "suspended" a planned summit of Nobel peace laureates, blaming the South African government's "intransigence" in refusing to grant a visa to the Dalai Lama.
South Africa has three times turned down a request to grant the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader a visa, as it tried to build closer ties with China.
A number of Nobel Peace Prize winners had tried to force the South African government to reverse its decision, by threatening to boycott the event, but they appear to have failed.
"After extensive discussion and deliberation, it has been decided that the 2014 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, planned for 13-15 October 2014 in Cape Town, will be suspended," the city authorities said.
"The majority of Nobel Laureates and Laureate institutions requested that either the summit be moved to another country, or that the visa to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, be granted unconditionally."
"Given the continued intransigence of the South African Government on this matter, this eventuality appears unlikely at best," said the opposition-controlled city.