Dalai Lama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet whose title means Ocean of Mercy, won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize today for decades of nonviolent struggle to free his country from China.

He said in response: “My case is nothing special. I am a simple Buddhist monk--no more, no less.” He expressed hope the award would focus attention on compassion in every human being.

China called the award an insult and interference in its internal affairs.

One clear purpose of the Norwegian Nobel committee was to deliver a message of support to the pro-democracy movement in China.

Analysts also said it might help eventually to break the deadlock between China, which has occupied the Himalayan nation since 1950, and the Dalai Lama, who leads an exile government based in India.

In its citation, the committee mentioned the Dalai Lama’s rejection of violence and his preachings of respect for all living things. It praised his “constructive and forward-looking proposals for the solution of international conflicts.”

Past prizes have been used to encourage human rights activists and support peace efforts. Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa won in 1983; the 1987 prize went to President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica for his Central American peace plan, and U.N. peacekeeping forces were given last year’s award.

The Dalai Lama, 54, was born Tenzin Gyatso. The son of a poor farmer, he was named spiritual and temporal ruler as the 14th Dalai Lama at age 5, just before the Chinese army marched into Tibet. He fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

In Newport Beach, Calif., where he is attending a conference, the Dalai Lama said: “I very much appreciate that kind of recognition about my beliefs. In fact, I always believed in love, compassion and a sense of universal respect. Every human being has that potential.”

“This prize may open more people’s eyes to look at their own quality,” said the Buddhist leader, who wore sandals and traditional red-and-orange robes.

In the Himalayan town of Dharmsala, India, the base of the exile government, Tibetans danced and sang in the streets.

Despite the Dalai Lama’s teachings of nonviolence, bloody clashes with Chinese authorities have occurred in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, over the last two years.