UN and other int'l bodies should take up the Dalai Lama succession issue: US

Washington DC: Rejecting China's claim on deciding the 84-year-old Dalai Lama's successor, the US on Thursday said the issue should be taken up by the international bodies, including the UN.

China has been asserting that its assent to the Dalai Lama's successor is a must.

"There are many people who follow the Dalai Lama and don't live in China. He is a well-known spiritual leader throughout the world and deserves respect and deserves the succession process picked by his faith community...," US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback told reporters at a news conference. Rejecting the Chinese claim, he reiterated that it was an issue that should be taken up in international bodies.

The United States is going to keep pushing on that, said Brownback who was recently in Dharamshala and addressed the Tibetan community.