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I’m sure you’ve all heard about the controversy around the Dalai Lama (Tibet’s spiritual leader) being banned from South Africa’s Peace Conference “because it would detract from the issues at hand“. As I’m sure you know, the meeting was supposed to be about how best to use South Africa’s hosting of the Fifa Soccer World Cup in 201o to promote peace and fight racism and xenophobia… But now all news is focused on quite how spineless South Africa has been on this historic occasion.

At least Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and former president FW de Klerk (whose signatures were on the Dalai Lama’s original invitation before it was revoked) have publicly denounced and decided to boycott the conference. Now even Nelson Mandela and the Nobel Peace Prize Committee will not be in attendance.

When 2010 comes I hope that South African leadership will show more forsight than they have this week. The potential to promote this great country of ours is simply staggering, but if the organizers and South Africans at large can’t keep their heads above water the event may become a national embarressment. Truthfully I think that in the end it is South Africans that make South Africa great, and I am proud to be amongst them. Hopefully our hospitality will speak volumes about the country.