LONDON, 24 October 2005: Members of the Tibetan community here gathered in strength yesterday evening to see and hear the 11-member delegation of the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies at a reception hosted jointly by the Office of Tibet and the Tibetan Community in Britain. For the Tibetan parliamentarians it provided a rare opportunity to interact with the Tibetans here and also see and hear how they were doing. Some of the members were especially impressed by the cultural performances displayed by the younger and senior members of the Tibetan Community’s Dance Group, and later after the dinner joined in the impromptu singing of songs to the delight of all.
Welcoming the Tibetan parliamentarians, Mr. Tseten Samdup, Chairman of the Tibetan Community in Britain, explained the efforts that the community’s dance group has been making in promoting the Tibetan culture, which he said was very important. He also while thanking all the artistes and their parents for all the support, urged more Tibetans to join the group.
The Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Northern Europe, Mrs. Kesang Y. Takla, while welcoming the Tibetan parliamentarians gave some background of the work that the London Office of Tibet has put in coordinating and arranging their visit programmes in London as well as in Edinburgh since the time Mr. Sonam Frasi, London-based Tibetan parliamentarian, who has been involved with the visit, had approached the office. She expressed the hope that the Tibetan parliamentarians will benefit much from this experience of visiting and interacting with the Westminster and Scottish parliamentarians.
Reporting on the activities of the Tibetan Community in Britain, Mrs. Kunsang Chodon, member of TCB’s Council, explained how the Tibetan Community in Britain has grown since its inception in 1970. She said the Tibetan Community in Britain organises various functions either on its own or in collaboration with other organisations and the Office of Tibet, in promoting more awareness for the Tibetan cause and culture and also to bring the Tibetans here closer to each other. She also informed the visiting parliamentarians how closely the community works with the Office of Tibet and also finds sponsorship for education of Tibetan refugee children in India, besides raising funds to help with emergency situations faced by Tibetans, and others, such as the Tsunami.
Speaking at the gathering, Mr. Sonam Frasi thanked the Office of Tibet for all their help for the Tibetan parliamentarians visit to London and Edinburgh. He also thanked the Tibetan Community in Britain and the Tibet Society for the funds made available to cover the costs relating to the visit. He hoped that the visiting Tibetan assembly members will be able to implement and put into practice what they have learned during the course of their trip here.
From the side of the 11-member delegation of Tibetan MPs, parliamentarian Hostsang Jigme gave a round up of their earlier visits to Brussels where they visited the European Parliament, and South Tyrol, which enjoys a unique form of autonomy. He said that their main purpose was to study how the parliaments in the West functioned and how they could learn from the experience. Mr. Jigme appealed to the Tibetans gathered to study and pay good attention to our Tibetan religion, culture and language which were important for Tibet. He said Tibetans here must also make efforts to reach out to the Chinese studying in Oxford and Cambridge to understand their mindset and know what they feel about Tibet. Also, on behalf of the visiting parliamentarians, he expressed their appreciation for the report that was presented on the Tibetan Community in Britain.
The highlight of the face to face meeting with the visiting Tibetan parliamentarians was the was the question and answer session in which there was no shortage of questions, and all the assembly members had the opportunity to speak and answer the questions in turns. The question ranged from the Green Book contribution to the latest situation with the Sino-Tibetan dialogue to how much the Tibetan MPs have been able to achieve during their tenure in office. The Tibetan parliamentarians speaking in turns explained the importance of the Green Book contribution and appealed to all the Tibetans to update their dues. They said that Tibetans living here are not supposed to make their Green Book contribution in India and that the Green Book question is dealt with in the Charter of Tibetans in exile. They clarified that if some people had any problem, they could write to the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies (ATPD), with reason for their inability to pay or for concession, through the concerned office on their letter head, and that the Working Committee of the ATPD would accept their request, after which applicants could make their contribution toward the Green Book.
However, despite all the explanations questioners in the audience expressed the hope that the Tibetan parliamentarians will review the Green Book situation in the light of the realities of living outside the Indian sub-continent and introduce some flexibility to encourage and enable more people to make their Green Book contribution.
The visiting members of the Tibetan assembly also said that once they are elected and in the house, they are to represent all the Tibetan people and their aspirations and not the particular region they were initially elected from. This they said is also part of the oath that they have to take before holding the office of a Tibetan deputy.
On the crucial question of the dialogue, and the Middle Way Approach, they said that the current position and efforts being made by the Tibetan Kashag was given the backing of the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies after a lot of thought and discussion. They asked the audience to analyse the situation from various perspectives and that His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as the leader of the Tibetan people, has always said things to primarily encourage the Tibetan people about Tibet’s future.
In answer to another question, a member of the visiting Tibetan MP’s delegation made a strong and impressive appeal to the large Tibetan gathering. He explained that the road to freedom for the Tibetan people was not an easy one, as China invaded and occupied Tibet for a reason. He said that if all the Tibetans unite and think and work for Tibet’s cause on a regular basis then there is hope for us, just as East Timor won its independence during our life time.
The member of the visiting Tibetan parliamentarian, therefore, called upon all the Tibetans not just to gather for an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but to daily think about how hard His Holiness works for the Tibetan cause and to do their best.
