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DHARAMSHALA, India: Thousands of Tibetan exiles greeted US House speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday as she made the first high-level official visit to see the Dalai Lama following a wave of unrest in Tibet.
"Today we are here at a sad time to join you in shedding the bright light of truth on what is happening in Tibet," Pelosi told Tibetan leaders in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, the base of the exiled spiritual leader.
"The situation in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world. What is happening, the world needs to know," Pelosi said.
The centre of Dharamshala was packed by thousands of refugees waving US and Tibetan flags, an AFP correspondent said.
"When we return home, we will take the message of what we saw here. When we return home we will try to meet the challenge of conscience that Tibet offers," Pelosi said.
Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, is a sharp critic of China's human rights record, and her visit to Dharamshala is her second meeting with the Dalai Lama in six months.
Pelosi had presented the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honour given by the US legislature, to the Dalai Lama at a function in Washington in October, which enraged Beijing.
- AFP/so
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