DHARAMSHALA, October 14: With a firm focus on “Tibetans in Tibet first”, a global coalition of Tibetan NGOs and Tibet Support Groups (TSG) began a three-day regional meeting in the exile seat of Dharamshala today.
The International Tibet Network, which has over 180 member organisations, is convening its third Regional Meeting from October 14 – 16.
The delegates, numbering over 50, representing 11 countries including Dubai, Taiwan and Burma, are expected to lay special emphasis on the ongoing crisis in Ngaba, eastern Tibet where six Tibetans have self immolated protesting China’s rule this year alone.
“A major focus of the meeting”, the International Tibet Network said in a release, “will be to plan the implementation of a campaign ‘Enough! Global Intervention to Save Tibetan Lives’”.
The campaign includes “global lobbying efforts” and “grassroots campaign” aimed at building international support and pressure on China to lift the crackdown in Ngaba.
Speaking on the first day of the meeting, as special guest invitee, Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay shared the urgency of the situation in Ngaba and indicated the exile administration’s preparedness to lead further campaigns.
“The Tibetan parliament and Kashag (Cabinet) will continue to have dialogue on what else to do in weeks and months to come”, said Dr Sangay while inviting the delegates to attend the day-long prayer and fasting being organised by the Kashag on October 19.
Calling himself a not-so-long-ago “activist”, Dr Sangay promised the gathered activists that the Kashag under him will be an “active Kashag” and expressed his hope for “co-operation” from the TSGs.
Kalon Tripa said that he will be traveling to the US later this month and to Europe in November to meet lawmakers and in the coming months travel across India to meet Indian students.
As part of the worldwide campaigns for Ngaba, the International Tibet Network has initiated an online pledge supporting global diplomatic intervention for Tibet.
Over 3,000 people have already signed the pledge calling on China to “withdraw its security forces from Ngaba and across Tibet now, and stop the ongoing harassment and torture of monks”.
