Dalai Lama denied visa for South Africa peace conference

Apparently, South Africa has refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend an international peace conference in Johannesburg this week.

"The Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Laureate did not receive a visa because it was not in South Africa's interest for him to attend, said Thabo Masebe.

South Africa thinks that, if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup -- the global soccer championship it will host next year.

'We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet,' Masebe said, adding that South Africa has gained much from its trading relationship with China."

-Quote from CNN Article (read: I suddenly became too lazy to explain it myself)

This refusal has already caused much outrage and fellow laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former president F.W. De Klerk have put forward their support for the Dalai Lama, saying that they would also not attend if the Dalai Lama was forced not to attend.

De Klerk said that the refusal to give him the visa was in itself a "mockery" of the peace conference.

"The decision to exclude the Dalai Lama is irreconcilable with key principles on which our society is based including the principles of accountability, openness and responsiveness and the rights to freedom of expression and free political activity," -F.W. De Klerk

I suppose it's clear that South Africa doesn't want to offend China, considering that the 14th (and current) Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (read: fullname/title/whatever of: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso), had fled China in 1959 after a failed uprising against the Chinese Government's rule over Tibet.

The peace conference was billed as an opportunity to showcase South Africa's role as a human-rights champion ahead of its hosting of soccer's World Cup next year.

It was to bring together Nobel Laureates and top soccer officials. In addition to Tutu and De Klerk, laureates Nelson Mandella and Martti Ahtisaar, Sepp Blatter, president of soccer's international governing body, and actress Charlize Theron were invited to attend. The event had the blessing of the Nobel Committee.

-From the CNN Article... again

So... What do you think about this?
Personally, I'd value even an abstract concept of "peace" over "good publicity". I can clearly see S. Africa's arguments in their defense... They want to keep good relations with China (read: a pissed off China is scarier than a pissed off Tibet) and maintain their trading relationships. They don't want the Tibet and China conflict to overshadow this big event for them...
But really, it seems kind of self-centered. But oh well. That's how the world is.