Richard Gere e-mails president on Dalai Lama

Actor Richard Gere of the United States sent an e-mail message to President Kim Dae-Jung, asking him to allow the visit of the Tibetan religious leader to Korea, the preparatory committee for the Dalai Lama¡¯s visit to Korea said Wednesday.

¡°It is hard to understand that Korea, with deep Buddhist tradition, may not accept the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate,¡± the committee quoted Gere as saying in the message.

The American actor sent the e-mail in his capacity as chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, the committee said.