By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, DEC, 10: Tibetan exiles today participated in the official celebrations of the 27th anniversary of the conferment of Nobel Peace Prize on Holiness the Dalai Lama at Tsuglagkhang, marking the day with a special solidarity prayer for Larung Gar and Tashi Rabten, the latest Tibetan to set himself ablaze for Tibet cause.
Jointly organized by the Tibetan exile government and the Tibetan parliament, the Tibetan PM and Speaker both expressed concerns over the ongoing demolition of Larung Gar and treatment of the expelled nuns.
“We are here to pray for Larung Gar and for all those 146 Tibetans, including Tashi Rabten who have resorted to self-immolation as a form of protest against the Chinese rule,” PM Lobsang Sangay said at the prayer, which commenced after the Nobel Peace Prize Day celebration, attended by thousands of Tibetans including government dignitaries at Tsuglagkhang.
The Tibetan Prime Minister Dr. Lobsang Sangay in his official statement expressed hopes that China would realize that their policies in Tibet are flawed and have failed to win the hearts and minds of the Tibetan people.
“Chinese people need to realize that Tibet remains one of the biggest challenges that becomes the litmus test for China’s rise as the global power. The resolution to Tibet’s issue is possible only through constructive dialogue between the envoys of the Dalai Lama and the representatives of the Chinese leadership,” the PM said, adding that Middle Way Approach was the ‘way forward’.
With the trouble brewing for Mongolia after His Holiness’s visit last month, Speaker of Tibetan Parliament in exile Khenpo Sonam Tenphel said that the Chinese government’s reactions to the visit was ‘improper and uncalled for’.
“Tibet and Mongolia have a unique and close historical relationship based on ties of teacher and disciple and this cannot be destroyed by anyone,” he said.
Both the Tibetan exile government and the parliament congratulated Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia for winning the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association also celebrated the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on the Dalai Lama with the 21st Himalayan Festival today. The two-day festival is hosted to express the admiration and respect of the local host community towards His Holiness and to celebrate the bond between the two communities.
