The Dalai Lama, seen here during a visit to Seattle last April, has been barred from visiting South Africa for a peace conference. (Associated Press)

The organizers of a peace conference scheduled to begin in South Africa on Friday have decided to postpone indefinitely the event after the Dalai Lama was barred from attending.

The Tibetan spiritual leader was expected to join fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates at the conference — which was organized by top soccer officials — but the South African government turned down his entry visa.

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said Monday that the visa was not granted because the invitation to the Dalai Lama did not come from official government channels.

The conference was meant to highlight ways sport can promote peace ahead of the 2010 World Cup, which is being held in South Africa. Discussions were expected to touch on anti-racism, xenophobia and the ways sport brings people together.

The conference committee announced Tuesday that it has decided to postpone the meeting indefinitely "as a result of the controversy surrounding the Dalai Lama."

Organizers said they hoped to reschedule it before the World Cup — if the Dalai Lama is granted a visa.

No visa before 2010

But presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe said the Dalai Lama will not be issued a visa ahead of the sporting event.

Masebe said that a visit by the Dalai Lama would be a distraction for South Africa, which is hoping to use the World Cup to showcase its transformation from a pariah state to an international role model.

"You can't remove Tibet from [the Dalai Lama]," Masebe said. "That becomes the issue and South Africa is no longer the issue."

Mandla Mandela, Nelson Mandela's grandson and a member of the conference's organizing committee, said Tuesday that barring the Dalai Lama "is really worrying and saddening. Where are we headed in the future?"

The decision to bar the Dalai Lama generated sharp criticism, and several peace laureates — including Archbishop Desmond Tutu — scheduled to attend the conference decided to pull out.

Critics of South Africa's decision allege the government bowed to pressure from China, one of South Africa's largest trading partners, but government officials have denied that charge.

Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of being a Tibetan separatist, although he contends he just wants more autonomy for the region.

In response to South Africa's decision, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters Tuesday that more and more countries were embracing Beijing's contention that Tibetan Buddhism's top cleric was using his religious title as cover for pursuing independence for his Himalayan homeland.

Beijing "appreciated efforts by all nations that support China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and oppose Tibetan independence," Qin said.

With files from the Associated Press