Sat Apr 9, 8:54 AM ET South Asia - AFP
TOKYO (AFP) - Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama called
for the abolition of the death penalty and a revamp of centuries of
academic-centered thinking on education to build a more
"warm-hearted" world.
On the second day of a visit to Japan which has been condemned by
China, the Dalai Lama told a crowd of hundreds in Tokyo that
criminals should be treated with "compassion, not anger."
"Criminals, people who commit crimes, usually society rejects these
people," the Buddhist monk said in a sumo wrestling arena
rearranged for his address on Saturday.
"They are also part of society. Give them some form of punishment
to say they were wrong, but show them they are part of society and
can change. Show them compassion," he said.
The Dalai Lama did not mention any countries in his appeal. Japan
is the only major industrialized country other than the United
States to practice the death penalty and has wide public support
for executions.
China, which has ruled Tibet since 1951, carried out about 90
percent of the legally sanctioned executions in the world last
year, according to Amnesty International.
China executed 28-year-old Tibetan activist Lobsang Dhondup in 2003
over a bombing that killed one person but amid an international
outcry a Chinese court commuted the death sentence of monk Tenzin
Deleg in the same case.
The Dalai Lama, taking questions from an audience concerned that
Japanese youth were turning wayward, urged schools to change their
focus.
"It is not sufficient for education to be just about academics,"
the 1989 Nobel Peace laureate said.
"There is so much emphasis on the brain. This is good but we should
be equally concerned about being warm-hearted," he said.
"In the past few centuries there has been a neglecting of these
qualities in education," he said. "We should try to introduce these
qualities as part of education the world over."
The Dalai Lama's lecture was the first of five he will deliver on
his 11-day tour of Japan.
It is his 10th visit to Japan -- or 14th including airport transits
-- but he has not met a sitting Japanese prime minister since
1980.
China protested the latest visit, even though Japanese officials
have no plans to see the Tibetan spiritual leader.
First, it was the Vatican. Now, it's the Dalai Lama. High time
for capital punishment to go the way of the dodo.
