10th Session of Tibetan Parliament Begins

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Tibet.net
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Mr Penpa Tsering, Speaker of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, delivers his opening address during the tenth session of the parliament which began Tuesday, 7 September 2010/Photos by Tenzin Dhonyoe

Dharamshala: The tenth session of the 14th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile has begun this morning.

In his opening address, Speaker Penpa Tsering gave an overview of the recently held first Tibetan National General Meeting, conferment of Gold Medal to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the celebration of 50th anniversary of Tibetan democracy day.

The Speaker said the delegates of national general meeting had an extensive six-day discussion on a wide range of issues such as political affairs, promotion of democracy, religion, culture, sustenance of settlements, education, health, economy and welfare of Tibetans, among others.

Even though the recommendations of the meeting are yet to become laws, the Kashag and the Parliament in future must be answerable to the general public on the implementation of these recommendations, he said.

The Speaker expressed deep concern over the prevailing political repression inside Tibet and the decreasing number of Tibetan refugees due to tight control on the border of Tibet and Nepal.

He also highlighted numerous measures employed by the Chinese government in arresting and alleging leading Tibetan spiritual figures, scholars, singers, who extend remarkable service for the benefit of Tibet's culture, religion, environment and social welfare.

If the Chinese government think carefully about its policies on Tibet, these measures will not help to promote harmony between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples in the long run, he said.

Similarly, measures to annihilate the identity of Tibetan people through projects implemented under the pretext of development in Tibet will create impediment in resolving the issue of Tibet and harm the long-term relations between the Chinese and Tibetan people.

The Speaker called on the administration and the general public to make a concerted effort to follow the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The Parliament passed three condolence resolutions on the opening session. The members observed a minute's silence to mourn: (1) the natural calamities in Kyegudo and Drugchu in Tibet (2) demise of Mr Gomang Tenpa, former member of Tibetan Parliament and (3) demise of parliamentary secretary Mr Phurbu Tsering.

The departments of the Central Tibetan Administration will present their work reports for the year 2009-2010 during this session.

The session will last until 17 September.