Washington DC — ‘Hence let us continue this mission and sooner or later we will accomplish our dream and aspirations of Tibetans inside Tibet,’ President Dr Lobsang Sangay said, adding: “His Holiness the Dalai Lama returns to Tibet and freedom will be restored for the Tibetan people.”
During a dinner reception hosted International Campaign for Tibet was attended by a hundred plus Tibetans and Tibet supporters including prominent personalities like Congressman Jim McGovern and Mr. Keith Harper, former US Ambassador to the UN.
Dr sangay was accompanied by Penpa Tsering, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Washington DC.
“We have been waiting and so far we were able to wait quite strongly because of friends like you. Hence let us continue this mission and sooner or later we will accomplish our dream and aspirations of Tibetans inside Tibet that His Holiness the Dalai Lama returns to Tibet and freedom will be restored for the Tibetan people.”
The President said that that the CTA is the most frugally run administration and we take pride that the CTA is run by staff members who are there more for the labor of love. He also assures that the US budget is being efficiently spent. “His Holiness the Dalai Lama does not want to cause any inconvenience to the new U.S. Administration. If he is an inconvenience then he would avoid coming or meeting with anyone. This is what we try to follow so that we can continue our relationship”, said President Lobsang Sangay.
“Friends like you mean a lot to us and we urge you to continue to be our spokesman since we are just six million Tibetans and we need more voices to speak on our behalf”, President Sangay added.
Keith Harper, former US ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed by Obama on June 10 2013, said, “Despite the Chinese Government forbidding all delegations to attend the Geneva event on 11 March 2016, diplomats still came and that is important because they recognize that what we cannot do is give in to ‘untruth’. That there is a false narrative that is told about the Tibetan people, about His Holiness that he is somehow a ‘separatist’. But we know better. Those who listen to him and see him they know better too because he does not talk on those terms.”
Congressman Jim McGovern said “I will never forget the incredible reception we received at Dharamshala. We were there because we wanted to make it clear to the Chinese government that we stand with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we stand with President Lobsang Sangay, and we stand with the Tibetan people. We want His Holiness, we want all the Tibetan people to be able to go home to Tibet. To be able to practice their religion freely, their culture freely, their language freely. We want the repression to stop.”
“I feel really hopeful. People seem more engaged and committed to the cause than ever before and I surely want a good relationship with China. I believe that’s important. But I don’t believe the price of that should be that we turn our backs from human rights”, McGovern added.
President Dr Lobsang Sangay meeting with US lawmakers, including Senator Mike Lee, Senator Orrin Hatch, Congressman Jim McGovern and Republican Senator Cotton at Washington D.C., May 20-26, 2017. Photo: CTA/DIIR
Mike Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS – and former white house Asia Director said “To support His Holiness and to support you we tried to break the myth that American values are separate from American interests. That this is an issue as human beings and as humanitarians and as humanists that we should care about deeply and as a democracy. But it is also a fundamentally strategic interest and how we engage China will depend on how China treats the ‘righteous but weak’ and Tibet is a very important case and I can tell you that every time I and Jeff and others engage with the Chinese on foreign policies we always spotlight this issue.”‘All the support that is extended to the CTA by the US government or other governments are well spent and he thanks the US government for being the most vocal and strongest supporter of the Tibetan Cause,’ Dr Sangay said.
During his visit to Washington DC, Dr Sangay attended a meeting with the US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Representative Jim McGovern, Representative Eliot Engel and Representative Joyce Beatty at the Leader’s office. He presented eight-point fresh appeal to the lawmakers, which received sympathetic hearing and an affirmation to extend all support at their disposal.
On May 23, 2017 Dr Sangay met with Senator Mike Lee from Utah and Senator Orrin Hatch, President pro tempore and the senior most republican senator from Utah in the morning of at the capitol building. The President briefed them about all range of issues concerning Tibet including current situation in Tibet and Sino-Tibetan dialogue. The senators expressed their high regard for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and exhibited grave concern on the current situation inside Tibet and promised to extend all support.
This is Dr Sangay’s first visit to Washington DC since the new government in the US took charge and his second visit to Washington DC since his reelection and the formation of new Kashag in June last year.
