Cape Town – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has called on Indian police to arrest and prosecute the Dalai Lama for “child abuse”.
This is after a video of the 87-year-old religious leader asking a boy to “suck my tongue” during a public event went viral on social media and triggered a global backlash.
In the video, the Tibetan spiritual leader can be seen inappropriately kissing a young boy on the lips before pulling the boy closer to him so his forehead could touch his (the boy’s) forehead.
Things take a turn for the worst when the Dalai Lama asks the boy to “suck my tongue” as he sticks out his tongue to the boy.
The Dalia Lama has since shared a statement in the third person apologising for his actions and saying that he regrets the incident.
Asking a young boy to “suck my tongue” is so inappropriate that accountability cannot be denied even if intention wasn’t wrong. Dalai Lama has lost whatever goodwill he had earned in his life with this one particular action. pic.twitter.com/ADRcysD9k7
— Dr. Shujaat Ali Quadri (@shujaatQuadri) April 10, 2023
“His Holiness wishes to apologise to the boy and his family as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused,” read the statement.
It said the Dalia Lama often teases people he meets in an “innocent and playful” way in public and in front of cameras.
However, the EFF said the religious leader was a little too late for the apology and rejected his apologies saying that was “child abuse”.
The party called on the Indian authorities to arrest Dalia Lama and send a stern warning to child abusers that they will be prosecuted harshly regardless of their social status.
“The lame apology issued today from the Dalia Lama office must be rejected with condemnation. Child abuse cannot be apologised away.
“It is also telling that the apology came almost a month after the deplorable incident and only after mounting pressure from activists against child abuse. This supposed apology failed to state that his acts were grossly abusive.” said the EFF.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpesh
