REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JOHANNESBURG - The Dalai Lama has again been refused entry into South Africa where he was going to attend the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, his South African representative said. Concern about angering China has been cited for a visa refusal in the past.

Nangsa Choedon, the representative, said officials from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation called her to say the Tibetan spiritual leader's visa was denied, the Cape Times newspaper reported Thursday.

"For now the Dalai Lama has decided to cancel his trip to South Africa," Choedon was quoted as saying.

South Africa's international relations department said later Thursday it had received written confirmation from the office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama in India indicating he has cancelled his planned visit to South Africa.

The annual summit is being held in Cape Town next month and is meant to commemorate the life of Mandela. The Nelson Mandela Foundation on Thursday said it took note of South Africa's statement about processing the visa.

Other Nobel Laureates have told Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu that they will not attend if the Dalai Lama is not permitted into the country, the newspaper reported.

A South African court in 2012 ruled that officials "unreasonably delayed" a decision about whether to grant the Dalai Lama a visa for a 2011 trip, largely out of fears of angering the Chinese government.

The Dalai Lama wants increased autonomy for Tibet, the homeland from which he has been exiled since 1959. China accuses him of being a separatist.

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