By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, April 28: Tibetan members of Parliament, researchers and NGO leaders participated in the 9th Interethnic/ interfaith Leadership Conference in Taipei, Taiwan from April 24 to 27.
Around seventy participants including democracy activists, human rights lawyers, writers and media activists from China, Honkong, Taiwan, Macau, Southern Mongolia, overseas Ugyur activists and representatives of faiths such as the Falun Gong and Christian Church Movement attended the conference.
The four-day conference was organized by Initiatives for China/ Citizen Power for China.
The Tibetan participants were Bawa Kalsang Gyaltsen and Dhardon Sharling, members of Tibetan Parliament in Exile; Dorjee Tseten, Asia Director of Students For a Free Tibet; Lobsang Tseten, Asia Coordinator of International Tibet Network; Yeshi Tenzin, Chinese Section of Department of Information and International Relations; Dukthen Kyi, Editor of Contact Magazine, LHA and Dr. Chok Tenzin Monlam, Researcher.
“The Tibetan speakers spoke about the continued and sustained peaceful and cultural resistance staged by Tibetans inside Tibet and the growing international multi-lateral action for the Tibet movement,” said Dhardon Sharling, the youngest Tibetan MP.
Dhardon further noted that the conference provided a significant opportunity to allow the participants to find a common ground to challenge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and thereby ensure constitutional reforms and a democratic political system in China and in areas controlled by CCP.
Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama also sent his warm wishes to the participants and organizers of the conference in a message that read, “China needs human rights, democracy and the rule of law because these values are the foundation of a free and dynamic society. They are the source of true peace and stability. A democratic China is also in the interest of the international community in general and of China’s neighbors in particular. I will have no doubt either that an increasingly open, free and democratic China will be of benefit to the Tibetan people too.”
“Of the many issues concerning the situation inside Tibet, issues of gross human rights violations, the criminalization of the families and relatives of the self-immolators, particularly the death sentence meted out to Dolma Kyab, husband of Kunchok Wangmo who died after self-immolation protest in March last year, and the case of forced eviction of nomads from grasslands, were raised and discussed at the conference and the participants pledged to create a special Task-force that will coordinate actions to address the urgent situation inside Tibet,” said Bawa Kalsang Gyaltsen.
Matteo Macacci, President of International Campaign for Tibet also attended the conference.
“At this conference, we represented Tibet as an occupied nation and managed to build a common and mutual understanding with the other struggles who have suffered under the repressive Chinese regime. The expressions of solidarity by all the participants, particularly democracy activists and human rights lawyers from mainland China, to the Tibetan movement, will strengthen the trust and conviction needed to build a united force for our fight against the oppression,” said Dorjee Tseten.
