Calgary Mayor will 'white hat' Dalai Lama

翠花

Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier will give the Dalai Lama the city's iconic white cowboy hat Wednesday, a move the city's Tibetan community said will right a nearly 30-year-old wrong.

8 @, K" c; R! B5 U% @! \The Dalai Lama will be in Calgary for a two-day visit to speak at a University of Calgary conference called NOW, which includes a public address at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

  l8 p7 v; ^) O, F& sThe Dalai Lama was last in Calgary in 1980, when the city fathers declined to present him with a white hat, saying he wasn't an official dignitary. Calgary's Tibetan community was further annoyed when former mayor Al Duerr presented then President Jiang Zemin of China with a white hat in 1997.
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' K4 f3 k+ v6 c! zOn Wednesday morning, Bronconnier will present the cowboy hat to the Dalai Lama at the airport.
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/ C1 Y  Z2 p- x' N9 H4 B"Presentation of gifts on behalf of the citizen of Calgary are not intended to be a political symbols at all. This is a welcoming gesture ... recognizing an international spiritual leader, one who advances education, philanthropy and works towards world peace," Bronconnier said.

6 K; B) ]3 u% [1 {( D5 L' YTashi Phuntsok, president of the Tibetan Community of Alberta, said it's about time a Calgary mayor "white-hatted" the Buddhist leader.

"He has already received the Nobel Peace Prize, and he has already received a [U.S.] Congressional gold medal and he has already become an honorary citizen of Canada. And Canadians, the majority of the public, want him to be respected by our mayor in this way," he said.

4 m) S7 w# [: i% s* OLynn Chazotsang, who is on the Dalai Lama welcoming committee, said a white hat shouldn't be a political issue.
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' m! E( y& V7 A8 `0 Q' |1 @9 {"Whether you give him hat or no hat, it doesn't matter. He would feel the same love and compassion for everyone and he would not feel insulted," she said.
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* H0 V& _3 m% L$ b& |8 n& t5 hAlso Wednesday, Bronconnier will present a white hat to a former president of South Africa, F.W. de Klerk, who is also in Calgary for the conference.

Security will be tight
- g9 y- b3 b* |) IPeople who purchased tickets for the Dalai Lama's speech received a recorded telephone message about what will not be allowed into the Saddledome.
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/ g1 A8 @- H  H5 i( k( h! F9 z2 ?Food, beverages, and large cameras are prohibited. Attendees will be allowed to carry just a small bag or purse which is subject to security scanning.
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"There is no particular threat that's been identified except for the normal threats that accompany people of this kind of high calibre, this kind of high recognition," said Stephen Carter of Carter McRae Events on Tuesday.

Carter said there will be a small area for a bag check and food will be available for purchase inside the venue.

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