Beating the Monkey to scare the Dog. Merkel pays the price for meeting
the Lying Lama. Let this be a lesson to the other Barbarians.
Criticism is mounting in Germany over what appears to be the
reluctance of high-ranking German officials to meet with the Tibetan
spiritual leader when he pays a four-day visit to Germany at the end
of this week.
German Chancellor Merkel will be away in South America and her deputy,
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, turned down an official
request for a meeting because he doesn't have time, sparking criticism
from the spiritual leader's representatives as well as Merkel's
conservatives.
German President Horst Koehler has also ruled out a meeting because of
scheduling difficulties, his spokesman, Martin Kothe told Bild am
Sonntag newspaper.
