By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, January 30: Four Tibetan NGOs in association with Women’s Empowerment Desk of CTA and Jagori Rural on Saturday joined for a panel discussion on working towards conflict resolution and climate justice concerning the Himalayan regions as part of the ‘One Billion Rising’, a global campaign which aims to amplify the voices of the most marginalized and rise for justice.
Minister of Information and International relations (Kalon) Dicki Chhoyang attended the ‘Day of rising for peace and climate justice’ panel discussion as the chief guest on Martyrs day.
“I hope today’s event is one of many that will bring together both Tibetan and Indian youths. We can also discuss how we can cultivate a peaceful growth of our community and maintain the harmonious relationship that we had over the last 50 years,” said Kalon Dicki Chhoyang.
She emphasized the importance and the responsibility of today’s youth to maintain the relationship between the two communities for a long time. “It is very important for the Indian youth to pay attention to the Tibetan issue. Since Tibet’s occupation, India has felt the strong presence of China. So India and its civil and youth needs to be alert and understand what is going in Tibet politically, environmentally, culturally and at the border,” she said while emphasizing the Tibet issue having direct impact on India.
The collaboration, said Navneet Gupta of Jagori Rural, is a first of its kind to generate a dialogue between Indian and Tibetan communities to foster mutual understanding in working towards peace and environment justice.
“We hope that by bringing together organizations that have different approaches to various social issues, we can generate a fresh and unique dialogue,” said Soumya Bhat, Assistant National Coordinator, One Billion Rising.
Tenzin Tselha, National Director, Students for a Free Tibet (India) said, “Through this event we aim to reach out to Indian college students and members of the local Indian community to make them aware of the human rights and environmental crisis in Tibet.”
The event paid a special dedication to Irom Sharmila, the Iron Lady of Manipur who began her hunger strike against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in November 2000.
