Parliamentary Delegation Visits Embassies Over Critical Situation In Tibet

5 Dariya News Service (Vijyender  Sharma)

Dharamshala 27-Aug-2012

A three-member delegation of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile led by Speaker Penpa Tsering, Geshe Rongpo Lobsang Nyandak and Choekyong Wangchuk, is on a week-long visit to embassies of various nations in New Delhi to seek concrete support to end the grim situation prevailing inside Tibet.The situation in Tibet has deteriorated with continuous self-immolation of Tibetans since a Tibetan parliamentary delegation visited embassies in New Delhi last October and January this year.Given the worsening situation in Tibet, the Tibetan Parliament’s Standing Committee convened an urgent meeting and decided to send a delegation to New Delhi headed by the Speaker.The delegation met a series of diplomats including Mr Miroslav Stasek and Jana Peterkova from the embassy of Czech Republic, Mr Romanasi Mibina, the representative of the Holy Pope and Msgr. Marco Sprizzi on 22 August.During their meeting, they discussed the grim situation in Tibet in light of the series of self-immolations that have occurred since 2009. They also raised the issue of arbitrary arrest of innocent Tibetans as well as Chinese police’s heavy handedness in dealing with peaceful Tibetan protesters.The delegation asserted that the genuine grievances of the Tibetan people are not addressed by the Chinese government. They informed them that the root causes of the unrest in Tibet are 1) Transfer of Chinese population into Tibet, assimilation and annihilation of Tibetan identity 2) Denial of political rights, freedom of religion, language and speech to Tibetans, 3) Destruction of Tibet’s natural environment and 4) economic marginalisation and discrimination of Tibetans.The Embassy officials expressed solidarity with Tibetans and assured the parliamentary delegation that they would write to their foreign offices to relieve the sufferings of Tibetans inside Tibet.The parliamentary delegation will visit the embassies of other countries and the offices of the United Nations and the European Union in New Delhi in the next few days. Since 2009, 49 Tibetans have self-immolated in Tibet demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans.