Desmond Tutu's last-ditch appeal to South Africa to grant a visa to the Dalai Lama on the eve of his 80th birthday has been rejected, marring the start of the celebrations.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader on Wednesday cancelled a planned trip to South Africa because of delays with his visa, provoking a furious response from Tutu who blasted President Jacob Zuma's Government as worse than apartheid and accused him of kowtowing to China.
British billionaire Richard Branson joined the chorus of condemnation in a blog post, saying he had written to Zuma urging him to allow the visit. Zuma has refused to take a public stand on the visa, saying on Tuesday: "I don't think that you can get a definite answer from me."
But his deputy Kgalema Motlanthe said on Thursday that he had no problem with the Dalai Lama's visit.
Tutu's Peace Centre then urged Motlanthe to intervene to grant the visa, but his spokesman, Thabo Masebe, said: "The Deputy President does not become involved in visa applications."
