London, April 26 – The two-day programme schedule of Mrs. Kesang Y. Takla, Kalon (Minister) for the Department of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration, concluded here this evening with a talk on the current crisis in Tibet at a musical concert dedicated to dialogue and peace in Tibet.
Answering a question related to widespread international protests supporting the rights of the Tibetan people vis-à-vis China’s obsession with the coming Olympics in Beijing, the Tibetan Foreign Minster after explaining the reasons behind the Tibetan protests against the Chinese rule said that the question that needs to be asked is what is more important: Saving the Olympic torch or human lives?”
And when an English member of the audience asked how they can help, Mrs. Takla said it is important to keep the pressure on China and that they could also write to their parliament members and the government to champion the cause of Tibet. She said the Tibetan people were not anti-Chinese and that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was one of the first leaders in the world to support China’s candidature to host the Olympics in Beijing.
“I therefore ask the Chinese to understand the Tibetans,“ said Mrs. Takla addressing the remark especially to the Chinese female in the audience, who had earlier asked a question.
Mrs. Takla said the serious concern right now is the fate of the Tibetans inside Tibet. She said the Chinese authorities have imposed heavy restrictions with some monasteries deprived of water and food supply. She said in late March there was a confirmed report of one monk having died due to starvation. With no foreign reporters and tourists in Tibet and the tight control over people’s movements and mass arrests, she said one Tibetan from Tibet had even called a radio talk show to inform how the situation in Tibet was a like living in a prison.
The evening’s musical performance for Tibet given by Monica Smith and Wolfang Deinert was organised jointly by the Kailash Centre and the Office of Tibet. Mr. Hansjorg Mayer of the Kailash Centre welcomed the audience and Mr. Tsering Tashi of the Office of Tibet briefed them about the Tibetan minister‘s recently concluded tour of Denmark, Norway and Sweden where she had addressed conferences on Tibet and also met with senior government officials and parliamentarians to explain the urgency of the current situation in Tibet under massive Chinese military presence as seen on world TV screens.
Yesterday, Mrs. Takla was met by officials of the Foreign Office and also interviewed about the Tibet crisis by the BBC television. On Thursday, she discussed the Tibet situation with Mr. Mike Gapes, MP and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and at whose invitation His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be participating at a hearing on Tibet during his visit to the UK next month. The Tibetan Minister also had a separate meeting members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet which has been on the forefront of initiating parliamentary debates on Tibet and also introduction of Early Day Motions aimed to mobilise parliamentary show of concern for various issues relating to the just Tibetan cause.
Tomorrow, Mrs. Takla will be leaving for the Irish capital Dublin, where among other engagements, she has a scheduled meeting with the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Political Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs and the All Party Oireachtas Group for Tibet. She will also separately meet with members of the Tibet Support Group – Ireland and the Tibetan Community in Ireland.
Report by: Office of Tibet, London
