Dharamsala, Feb 11: United States Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Maria Otero, who also serves as Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, is on a week-long visit to South Asia in an effort to review the “specific challenges” faced by Tibetan exiles in the region.
As part of the visit, Under Secretary Otero visited Tibetan refugee settlement in Bylakuppe in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on February 8 and 9.
“Otero’s visit to Bylakuppe is part of a visit to South Asia that includes Nepal, where she will review the specific challenges faced by Tibetans there,” said International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), a Washington-based Tibet lobby group, in a post on its website.
During the two-day visit of Bylakuppe, Under Secretary Otero was briefed by CTA and local settlement officials on the “plan and the challenges facing the Tibetan refugee population in South Asia”.
On arrival in South India, Under Secretary Otero was received by officials of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and Lodi Gyari, the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
ICT Director for Government Relations, Todd Stein, is traveling in tandem with the delegation, the post said.
“Under Secretary Otero expressed the continued strong support of President Obama, Secretary Clinton and the U.S. Government for the welfare of Tibetans and the viability of their communities as they endeavor to preserve their distinct identity during the time of exile in India,” Todd Stein was quoted as saying in Bylakuppe.
In Bylakuppe Tibetan settlement, Otero met with local refugee officials and held interactive session with students, monks and nuns.
She was hosted at the Sera Monastic University and toured Tibetan commercial enterprises, a hospital, and an organic farming center to assess the needs of the settlement and its residents. She was able to hear directly from a broad spectrum of Tibetan community members, ICT said in its report.
As coordinator for Tibetan issues, Otero “oversees U.S. programs for Tibetans, including the U.S. humanitarian assistance grant that supports Tibetan refugees as they arrive from Tibet and helps address educational and health needs in the Tibetan refugee population”.
The U.S. State Department provides funding for a variety of programs that support refugees worldwide, including those living in India.
The Tibet office in the State Department also has oversight of $2 million approved by the U.S. Congress to help revitalize the Tibetan refugee settlements, ICT’s report said.
“To this end, on February 1, the U.S. Agency for International Development announced it was seeking proposals for projects on organic agriculture and workforce development in the Tibetan settlements.
“This U.S. financial support comes as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) seeks to implement its plan to revitalize the Tibetan refugee settlements in India and Nepal, some of which are a half century old, with improved infrastructure and new economic opportunities,” the report said.
Otero is currently on a four-day visit of India.
Otero departs India for Bhutan on February 11, before visiting Nepal from February 12 to 14.
