Tibetans Reaffirm Faith in His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Stand Firm on Middle-Way Approach

Saturday, 22 November 2008
Tibet.net
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The special general meeting of the Tibetan people successfully concludes with a unanimous resolution to stand firm with His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Middle-Way Approach to engage the Chinese government in finding a mutually beneficial solution to the issue of Tibet . The meeting resolutely calls on the China to respond positively to the Tibetan people's demand for genuine autonomy for Tibet as enshrined in the constitution of the People's Republic of China. REUTERS/Abhishek Madhukar

Dharamshala:  The historic special general meeting of the Tibetan people unanimously reaffirmed Tibetan people’s faith and allegiance in His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to continue to follow the Middle-Way Approach to engage China in finding a peaceful resolution of the Tibetan issue.

It was decided that the Tibetan people will remain steadfast to the principles of non-violent in all its activities to resolve the issue of Tibet under the leadership of the Central Tibetan Administration.

The meeting was convened by His Holiness the Dalai Lama taking into consideration particularly the present critical situation in Tibet and the lack of positive response from the Chinese leadership to resolve the issue of Tibet.
 
“The meeting reaffirmed our faith and allegiance in the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to out rightly refute the Chinese government’s claim that His Holiness and the Central Tibetan Administration cannot represent the Tibetan people,” Mr Karma Chophel, speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, said in his closing remarks.

“The envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama has challenged the Chinese leadership to hold a referendum of the Tibetan people if they wanted to know whom they consider their sole representative and leader,” Mr Chophel said.

“We affirmed that His Holiness and the Central Tibetan Administration are the sole representative of the Tibetan people,’’ the speaker added.

The special general meeting also strongly appealed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama not to take semi retirement or retirement and to continue to lead the Tibetan people.

“The Tibetan delegates also called upon the Chinese government to stop criticizing and making baseless allegations against His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as it not only hurts the sentiments of the six million Tibetan people, but also many Buddhist followers including many Chinese people who follow Buddhism,” the speaker said.

“It also hurts the feelings the all those people who have respect and love for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his untiring work for world peace and universal responsibility,” he said.

The delegates lauded the courage and determination of Tibetans living in Tibet for expressing their suggestions and opinions to find a way forward to resolve the issue of Tibet under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The meeting called upon the Kashag to terminate the ongoing talks with the Chinese leadership if the Chinese government does not agree to the demands and reciprocate positively to the overtures of the Tibetan people.

Some of the delegates expressed frustrations over the Chinese government’s lack of positive response to the mutually beneficial solution of the Middle-Way Approach, discrediting His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the continued repressive measures being undertaken in Tibet .

The delegates unanimously agreed that the uprising of the Tibetan people across the traditional provinces of Tibet in March this year is a call against the wrong policies of the Chinese government and Tibetans bear no ill feelings against the Chinese people.

Out rightly rejecting the Chinese government’s decree on getting its approval in selecting the reincarnation of spiritual leaders, the delegates resolutely called upon the Chinese government to uphold and follow the Tibetan traditional method of recognizing the reincarnation of Tibetan spiritual leaders.

Speaker Karma Chophel, left, and deputy-speaker Dolma Gyari of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile stand in front of a portrait of the Dalai Lama to observe a minute's silence to pay respect to the Tibetans who died since March 10 uprising in Tibet this year, in Dharmsala, India, Monday, Nov. 17, 2008. Several hundred Tibetan exile leaders gathered Monday in northern India for a landmark meeting to discuss the direction of the movement that has struggled for decades to win autonomy from China. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)


While addressing gathering, Kalon Tripa Prof Samdhong Rinpoche said we have made our demands clear to the Chinese government by presenting the “memorandum on genuine autonomy for Tibet ”. We will not make any further compromise on our demands outlined in the memorandum, he added.

Kalon Tripa reiterated that the main issue of contention between China and Tibet is only the welfare of the six million Tibetan people. It is not at all related to the personal status of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; nor is it related to the status of a few Tibetans who are close to him. We would like to once again make it very categorical that concerning them that we do not have a single issue to be discussed with the People's Republic of China .

Kalon Tripa encouraged the Tibetan people to put concerted effort on the proposed 11 model action plans, broadly categorised as educational, social, economic, religion and culture.

These plans include engaging in meritorious actions to enhance the collective merit of the Tibetan people; establishing close ties with all the people who have cultural, religious and linguistic affinities with the Tibetan people; sustaining Tibetan language and culture by providing an adequate level of modern education to the children; providing help for the education and health care of Tibetans in Tibet; spreading awareness on the current state of Tibet and clarifying misunderstandings and misinterpretations - including to the Chinese based in the Mainland China; preserving the unity and harmony of Tibetan community in exile; and others.

Kalon Tripa expressed his heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to all the national and international press, documentary filmmakers, for extensive coverage of the special meeting and taking special interest and initiative on the issue of Tibet .

He also thanked the Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat for putting concerted effort in successfully organising the special general meeting on Tibet .

The delegates expressed their gratitude to governments, parliaments, groups and individuals, and especially the government and people of India for their continued support for the Tibetan people and the Tibetan cause.

581 delegates representing Tibetan people based in 19 different countries – US, Canada, Switzerland, England, Australia, France, Belgium, Taiwan, Russia, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Hungary, Nepal, Bhutan and India – attended the six-day special general meeting on Tibet, from 17 – 22 November held in Dharamsala.

TIBETODAY welcomes donations from generous individuals and organisations
tibetoday vol. 1 No. 12
MAIL YOUR OPINION
TIBETODAY welcomes any suggestions and feedbacks from our readers. We are looking forward to have a warm and hearty interaction with you. You can post your views and opinions to us at
editor@tibetoday.com
info@tibetoday.com.