5-member team from UK to meet Tibetan PM

Thursday, October 06, 2011

TNN

Lobsang Sangay, the newly-elected Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in exile. A Harvard law school graduate, Lobsang Sangay replaced Samdhong Rinpoche as Kalon Tripa in 2011. (Photo: Time/Sumit Dayal)

DHARAMSHALA-- A five-member delegation from UK, comprising members of British Parliament, have reached Dharamshala to observe the proceedings of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile.

The visit aims at impressing upon the British government to encourage negotiations between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan administration in exile. Tenchoe, programme coordinator of UK MPs, told TOI that the delegation had met the Dalai Lama on Tuesday. They will also meet Tibetan Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay and other ministers of the cabinet on Thursday, he said.

"They also visited Norbulingka Institute which is the hub for artisans who fled Tibet and working there to preserve their culture. They also went to the reception centre of Tibetan refugees at McLeodganj on Wednesday," she said. They will be here till Friday.

The visit is part of an ongoing parliamentary exchange programme initiated by the Tibet Society, under which delegations had visited each other in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

The Tibet Society is the secretariat of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet with Fredrick Hyde-Chambers, chair of Tibet Society as the group's adviser, who is a founding member of APPGT. Phillipa Carrick, CEO of Tibet Society, is also accompanying the delegation. Founded in 1986, APPGT consists of MPs from all three main parties, who share concerns about the Tibetan cause and Tibetan people. Earlier, an Italian delegation had visited the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibetan parliament-in-exile from September 30 to October 3, 2011.