Tibet Festival in Thailand Gets Underway

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Tibet.net
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The opening ceremony of a five-day Tibetan cultural extravaganza in Bangkok, Thailand's capital, on 5 February 2010/Photos by Tenzin Losel

Bangkok: A five-day "Festival of Tibetan Spirituality, Art and Culture - From Himalayas to Chaophya River", the first of its kind, kicked off yesterday at 6 pm (local time), 5th March 2010, at Thailand's Bangkok Art and Culture Center (BACC).

Hours before the inaugural function, group of old women, who were all Chinese, came in front of the venue to disrupt the opening ceremony. When asked, they seem to have no idea what is going on and simply gathered here following telephone call from the Chinese Embassy. However, later on they did make some slogans but we manage to settle it peacefully, Tenzin Losel, an event coordinator said.

Ajarn Sulak Shivaraksha, Director of the Sathirakoses-naga Pradipa Foundation, formally inaugurated the festival amid hundreds of visitors.

In his three minutes special video message to the festival, His Holiness the Dalai Lama thanked the organisers and people of Thailand for their support and highlighted that both Thai and Tibetan people share the same teachings of Lord Buddha.

The opening ceremony of a five-day Tibetan cultural extravaganza in Bangkok, Thailand's capital, on 5 February 2010/Photos by Tenzin Losel