Tibetan Exile Government Hopes China Chooses Peace Amid Conflict

In a statement to mark the 36th anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize upon the Dalai Lama, the supreme leader of the Tibetan people, the Tibetan government-in-exile said, “We hope that the government of the People’s Republic of China, driven as it is by hatred, greed, and ignorance in its pursuit of eradicating Tibetan national identity and destroying Tibet’s environment, will soon encounter the companionship of compassion, kindness, and wisdom.”

The Tibetan government-in-exile celebrates December 10 every year as International Human Rights Day. Also, they are observing globally this year as the “Year of Compassion” in alignment with the 90th birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama.

“Today also marks International Human Rights Day. We express our solidarity with all those around the world who are denied their basic human rights and extend our hope that those who oppress these rights will gain a sense of right and wrong,” said the CTA.

“Through the understanding of compassion, may they come to respect every human life, listen to every human voice, and honour every human aspiration,” ir said.

Penpa Tsering, leader of the government-in-exile, also extended warmest felicitations to the distinguished guests, friends and supporters of Tibet across the world, especially to Tibetans, both inside and outside the region. He said at a time when the world “is shrouded in the darkness of conflict, hatred, and fear, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s philosophy of peace, rooted in compassion, wisdom, and a profound sense of universal responsibility, has illuminated a viable path toward genuine and lasting peace”.

“It needs no elaboration that the primary purpose of observing this historic occasion is to devote ourselves to the study and implementation of these timeless teachings,” he said.

The CTA prayed for the long life of the Dalai Lama and the flourishing of his enlightened activities for world peace, human solidarity, and the resolution of the just cause of Tibet.

“We also pray that His Holiness’s teaching of compassion becomes the spiritual foundation and the essence of practice for all humanity,” it added.

In 1959, the occupying Chinese troops suppressed the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa and forced the 14th Dalai Lama and over 80,000 Tibetans into exile in India and neighbouring countries. On reaching India after a three-week treacherous journey, the Dalai Lama took up residence for about a year in Mussoorie in Uttarakhand. Currently, the Tibetan government-in-exile is based in Dharamsala, where a community of Tibetans lives in exile with the Dalai Lama, hoping to sustain their struggle to secure complete autonomy in their Chinese-ruled homeland, Tibet.

- IANS