(TibetanReview.net, Oct15’19) – The apex tribunal of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) at Dharamsala, India, has ruled Oct 14 that the grounds cited by the Kashag (Cabinet) for removing Mr Penpa Tsering as representative at the Office Tibet, Washington, DC, in Nov 2017 were untrue and defamatory and it should apologize to him publicly.
Penpa Tsering, who had taken charge on Jul 1, 2016, was removed from his post by a notice dated Nov 7, 2017. The move was greatly controverted within the exile Tibetan community. The Kashag subsequently issued a 10-point explanation of grounds for the dismissal, with the main thrust of the allegations being dereliction of duty and insubordination, which the petitioner alleged were false and defamatory.
The judgement runs into 1,028 pages and it took nearly five hours for the Chief Justice Commissioner of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission, Mr Kargyu Dhondup, to read it, flanked by the two other Justice Commissioners.
The apex Tibetan tribunal dismissed the grounds cited for Penpa Tsering’s dismissal as untrue and said they tarnished his image in the eyes of his peers and society. It ordered the Tibetan Cabinet to publish an apology in all the official media outlets of the CTA in both Tibetan and English, and to submit the publications to the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission so that it could be handed over to Penpa Tsering.
The Tibetan Cabinet was also ordered to pay cost to the petitioner, which amounted to Rs 98,000 ($1,400) within one month.
The Tibetan Cabinet has expressed regret at a press conference, with the Home Minister Mr Sonam Topgyal calling the verdict unexpected. He has added that the cabinet will, however, respect it and it will be placed before the Cabinet for necessary action.
The judgement came on the penultimate day of Kargyu Dhondup’s retirement. He has been succeeded by Mr Sonam Norbu Dagpo from the CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations. He took his oath of office on Oct 15.
