Build global coalition to protect rights, identity: US coordinator to Tibetans

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, January 14

US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Robert A. Destro addressed the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) leadership through a webinar yesterday. He urged the Tibetans to build an international coalition of countries that would help them protect their rights and preserve their unique identity.

Destro said, “We have urged like-minded countries to pass their own versions of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act so that the world can travel to Tibet as freely as the Chinese can travel to our countries and bear witness to what’s going on in Tibet”.

The virtual meeting was attended by Sikyong (president of Tibetan government in-exile) Lobsang Sangay, Kalons of the 15th Kashag (Tibetan government in-exile), Speaker Pema Jungney of Tibetan Parliament in-exile, Deputy Speaker Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok, and members of the Standing Committee of Tibetan Parliament in-exile.

Destro said, “Our job at the State Department is to be useful and to be of service to all Tibetan people. Your sense of the goal as what does a vibrant Tibetan government looks like is for you to set and our job is to be of service to you as you work through the preservation of the Tibetan community, Tibetan language, Tibetan Buddhism, and your identity”.

On the successful preliminary election held recently by the Tibetans in-exile, he expressed hope that the Tibetan parliament in-exile would continue to develop as a robust institution that continues to play a great leadership role in the life of every citizen. He emphasised that the Tibetan people are the most effective advocate in this regard and the only way to push forward the goal was by working together.

Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, who moderated the webinar, said that the appointment of a Special Coordinator was seen as a powerful gesture towards the Tibetan people and the Tibetan cause. Besides, it sent a powerful message of hope to the Tibetans in Tibet.

“You are the only Special Coordinator, who within a short duration, has participated in so many webinars and issued so many statements. You deserve the credit for being the most active and most vocal spokesperson for the Tibetan cause,” said Sikyong.

He appealed to Destro and his team to prepare an adept report on Tibet emphasising and highlighting the historical status of Tibet for the coming February and March report. Besides, he also urged the Special Coordinator’s office to establish a coalition between the US ambassadors in different countries and the offices of Tibet since the CTA was now formally acknowledged and recognised by the US Government.

Kalon of Religion and Culture Ven Karma Gelek Yuthok thanked Destro and his colleagues’ support towards the religious freedom of the Tibetan people that became more apparent and intensified through the recent enactment of the TPSA 2020.