The 14^th Nobel Peace Summit scheduled next week in Cape Town has been "postponed" because some of the Noble laureates have decided to boycott the event due to the visa denial of the Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama.

According to reports, six Nobel laureates, who are to attend the event that was supposedly to start on October 13 through 15, have stated they will not be attending because the country hosting the event did not grant entry to the spiritual leader.

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The mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, has released a statement regarding the postponement of the event noting that the South African government is to blame since they were "intransigent" regarding the approval of the Dalai Lama's visa.

Also, the decision to suspend the event has undergone extensive discussion and liberation, added the city officials.

Majority of the Nobel laureates have asked the officials of Cape Town to either move the event to another country or grant the Dalai Lama's visa completely.

The attendees of the event reportedly protested and even pressured President Zuma to have His Holiness' visa approved. Reports say that almost 10,000 people have signed a petition in order to move the event to another host country.

It has been suggested that Rome should be the venue of the event but no further reports have been stated regarding the decision.

The Dalai Lama has accused South Africa of mistreating a simple person, in reference to his situation, and has thanked the other peace laureates who have taken a stand for him.

His comments were issued during a ceremony in Dharamshala. Two Nobel laureates have attended the ceremony, namely Jody Williams of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian human rights lawyer. These two also opted to boycott the said summit.

The visa of the Tibetan leader has already been denied by South Africa for the third time. The reason is reportedly South Africa's relationship with China.

China is said to be the biggest trading partner of South Africa and the country fears that granting the visa of the spiritual leader might lead to strains in their ties.

China has exiled the Dalai Lama and authorities have ccused him of being a separatist. He has been living in India following the exile back in 1959. The Dalai Lama maintains that he just wants autonomy for Tibet.

TagsNobel Peace Summit, Postponed, Dalai Lama, South Africa, visa