Carla Bruni performed a most delicate mission for France yesterday, sitting at the feet of the Dalai Lama to help to save her husband’s political face while sparing him the wrath of China.

After Beijing effectively vetoed plans by President Sarkozy to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader, France’s First Lady was dispatched to a hillside Buddhist retreat to attend the consecration of the biggest traditional Tibetan temple in Europe.

To the crash of symbols and droning of horns, a smiling Ms Bruni accompanied His Holiness at the head of a procession around the Lerab Ling sanctuary. They were watched by a couple of thousand acolytes from Europe and beyond, and a bevy of Paris fashion and showbiz celebrities who have joined a wave of French enthusiasm for Buddhism.

Elegant in her khata, the white scarf worn by honoured guests, Ms Bruni and the Dalai Lama tossed white petals in the doorway after he prostrated himself. She then sat as guest of honour before a 25ft-high gold Buddha.

The idea was to show that the President was ready — up to a point — to defy unusually stark warnings from China and show support for Tibet during the Olympic Games. Mr Sarkozy cancelled a plan to meet the Dalai Lama last month after the Chinese Ambassador to Paris informed him that there would be “serious consequences” for France if he did.

Bernard Kouchner, the Foreign Minister, and Rama Yade, the junior Minister for Human Rights, were also on hand at the Lerab Ling sanctuary for Ms Bruni’s brief private chat with the Tibetan spiritual leader. The Socialist Opposition has had a field day denouncing Mr Sarkozy’s “kowtowing” and the hesitation of Dr Kouchner over whether or not he would meet the Dalai Lama.

Beijing was also closely watching the pine hills of the Herault département, near Montpellier, after its Foreign Ministry advised Paris on Thursday to avoid the “negative consequences” that would follow if it interfered in China’s internal affairs.

Ms Bruni, on her first solo mission for “Sarko”, was under strict orders to say nothing to the attendant media after a ten-minute private session with “Ocean of Wisdom”, as the Dalai Lama is called. The usually voluble Dr Kouchner was also silent on his session, which followed a carefully timed visit by the Dalai Lama on Thursday.

After depicting his 12-day French trip as purely religious, the Dalai Lama hit out at Chinese brutality in Tibet, saying that 400 people had been shot dead by Chinese police in the Lhasa area in recent weeks.

Chinese security forces were planning to continue their crackdown for many years, he said, and there had been a “frenzy” of new military camps built in the Amdo and Kham regions. “A project of long-term brutal repression is under way,” he said.

The Tibetans had been quickly disillusioned by the failure of President Hu Jintao to live up to promises to show flexibility over Tibet in the run-up to the Olympics, he told Le Monde newspaper. “Our envoys came up against a wall. There was no opening,” he said. Autonomy remained his goal for Tibet. “Real autonomy, because we know what Chinese-style autonomy is: a trap.”

His onslaught is embarrassing for Paris as it tries to restore favour with China after being singled out for rough treatment. Most Western leaders have met the Dalai Lama, including President Bush, Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, but Beijing was irked by what it saw as Mr Sarkozy’s provocative, and then weak, behaviour. The President informed China on behalf of Europe that he would not attend the Games opening if it did not show more flexibility on human rights. China, which was also annoyed by the rough passage of the Olympic torch through Paris in April, boycotted French companies and took Paris off the tourist map. Mr Sarkozy backed down on all fronts.

Yesterday Ms Bruni listened as the Dalai Lama delivered an impromptu and oddly informal homily to the congregation. He appealed for harmony and understanding among all religions, saying that the 9/11 terrorist hijackers were “mischievous men” who were not true Muslims. Then with a chuckle he told the congregation and the hundreds watching from outside: “I’ll stop now because our most important item today is lunch.”

Spreading the word

— This year the Dalai Lama met Gordon Brown, one of about 320 world leaders he has met since fleeing Tibet in 1959

— Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, received him in her office last year, despite Chinese expressions of displeasure

— The Dalai Lama shares a July 6 birthday with President Bush, whom he has met three times

— The Republican presidential nominee John McCain met the Dalai Lama in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado, this summer

Source: tibet.com

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