DHARAMSALA: A global summit of Nobel laureates has been canceled after the event was hit by a boycott over the South African government’s refusal to grant the Dalai Lama a visa, peace prize winner Jody Williams said Wednesday.

“The summit has been canceled because enough Nobel laureates refused to go,” Williams said in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama is based.

A group of six laureates, including American activist Williams, decided late last month to boycott the peace summit in Cape Town scheduled for Oct. 13-15 because the Tibetan spiritual leader was unable to attend.

The six have accused China of putting political pressure on countries to curb interactions with the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising.

China accuses the 79-year-old of being a separatist, while he says he merely wants more autonomy for Tibet.

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille said an announcement on the summit would be made on Thursday.

“We are still in discussion regarding the peace summit and will be making an announcement tomorrow,” the mayor’s spokesperson told AFP.

There was no immediate comment from the Nobel summit organization, which is based in Rome.

Williams was among Nobel laureates speaking at a press conference on Wednesday in Dharamsala to mark 25 years since the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel peace prize.

Fellow laureate, Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, said she was surprised that Desmond Tutu had not spoken out about his country’s move to refuse the visa.