Dalai Lama arrives in Toronto, says he knows why China so suspicious of him

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO - The Dalai Lama has arrived in Toronto, where he said he understands why China is so suspicious of him.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader calls the issue of his homeland "very sensitive." The Dalai Lama says China might control the people of Tibet at gunpoint but will never control their minds. Both Tibet and China itself, he said, are full of tension, resentment and fear.

China reacted furiously after Prime Minister Stephen Harper received the 72-year-old Dalai Lama on Parliament Hill.

But the Dalai Lama was unapologetic, saying he considers himself a free spokesman for Tibet, something his countrymen expect of him.

On Wednesday, he consecrates a Tibetan cultural centre in Toronto and then gives a talk called "The Art of Happiness."

© The Canadian Press, 2007