By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, November 5: Tibet’s Prime Minister in exile Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche has written a letter thanking the speaker of the US House of Representative Nancy Pelosi for her “steadfast support” to Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom.
The letter was written in the wake of Tuesday’s US mid-term elections in which Democratic Party, to which Pelosi belongs, lost its majority, marking the end of her reign as Speaker of the House.
“We hope that you will not think the latest electoral result of the mid-term polls as a final judgment of the performance of the Democratic Party by the American people. We will hope you will take as a victory for America and it’s vibrant democratic culture,” the Tibetan PM wrote in a letter dated November 3.
“While expressing our deep appreciation to your outstanding service to the people of America, we take this opportunity to state the profound gratitude of the Tibetan people for your steadfast support for the efforts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to end the suffering of the Tibetan people,” Rinpoche added.
Pelosi, 70, however, won her 12th consecutive term to the seat she has held in San Francisco since 1987 with 80 percent of the vote. She is in her second term as Speaker of the House of Representatives, having made history in 2007 when she was elected first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. She first made history in November 2002 when House Democrats elected her the first woman to lead a major political party.
Pelosi has long been an advocate for human rights around the world. She has fought to improve China’s human rights record, attempting to tie trade to increased human rights standards. A long time-friend of the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama and a tough critic of Beijing’s human rights record, Pelosi has been “a leader on efforts to free the people of Tibet”.
During a visit to China in May 2009, Pelosi asked Chinese President Hu Jintao to release individuals detained or imprisoned in China, among them dissidents, pro-democracy activists, journalists and pro-Tibetan advocates.
As a house speaker she played instrumental role in awarding the US Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama in 2007. Also in October 2009, Pelosi presented the first Lantos Human Rights Prize to the Dalai Lama.
In her statement marking Dalai Lama’s 75th birthday in July this year, Pelosi said: “The Dalai Lama has made the human rights situation in Tibet an issue of international concern, and it is long past time to resolve it. A negotiated agreement would ensure internal stability in Tibet and bolster China’s reputation in the world.”
A statement on her official site also carries her commitment to “continue to support the struggles of the Tibetan people and honor the sacrifice of those who gave their life fighting for freedom”. “We must be committed to meeting the challenge of human rights in Tibet if we are to work for human rights around the world,” she says.
In March 2008, amidst growing unrest in Tibet against Chinese rule, Pelosi led a 10-member US congressional delegation that visited Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in northern India. She became the first major international official to meet the Dalai Lama and to openly denounced Beijing’s accusation that Dalai Lama was responsible for “masterminding” the protests in Tibet.
At the time, she said she was in Dharamsala to join Tibetans at “a sad time” in order to shed “the bright light of truth” on the situation in their homeland.
“We still remember with great fondness your visit to Dharamsala in the spring of 2008 to show your support for the non-violent efforts of the people of Tibet for greater freedoms,” Rinpoche wrote in his letter to Pelosi.
