(TibetanReview.net, Nov09, 2016) – President Sher Bahadur Deuba of the ruling Nepali Congress party has denied that he had met with the head of the exile Tibetan administration Dr Lobsang Sangay in the Indian state of Goa during the 3rd India Ideas Conclave organized Nov 4-6 by New Delhi-based India Foundation following reports that he had been chastised by China for having allegedly done so.
“This is totally false and fabricated. Nepal is firm on its One-China Policy. There are no doubts that Tibet is an integral part of China. I am fully committed to it. I did not meet any Tibetan leader there,” kathmandupost.ekantipur.com Nov 9 quoted Dueba as saying in an interview.
China had also scolded Deuba, a former Prime Minister (1995-97, 2001-02, and 2004-05), for having accepted an invitation from a ‘far right’ organization like the India Foundation, according to a report by myrepublica.com Nov 8. Deuba has sought to dilute the significance of his presence at the conclave by saying, “I just participated in the inaugural session of the programme and returned to Delhi.”
The conclave had listed him as a keynote speaker, along with several people from India, including Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who was heard via a video message.
Tibet.net of the exile Tibetan administration said Nov 7 that Sikyong Lobsang Sangay was invited as a Special Speaker by the Foundation to speak on the central theme of the Conclave ‘India at 70 – Democracy, Development & Dissent’.