(TibetanReview.net, Nov24’23) – The Sikyong Mr Penpa Tsering, the executive head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) at Dharamshala, India, was on Nov 22 introduced in the Canadian Parliament as “the voice of the Tibetans around the world”, said the CTA on its Tibet.net website Nov 23. He was in North America to mainly speak at the three-day Halifax International Security Forum-2023. Several government ministers and a number of MPs have attended a reception for him hosted by the Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet.
Mr Penpa Tsering’s presence was acknowledged by James Maloney, a Liberal Party caucus member and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General. He called Sikyong Penpa Tsering “the voice of the Tibetans around the world and in Canada” while extending to him a cordial welcome to the House of Commons.
He has said the Tibetan Sikyong embodied the values of “non-violence and peace” which “are the universal aspirations for all humanity”.
Washington-based Halifax Forum, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, is a forum and network for international government and military officials, academic experts, authors and entrepreneurs. It addresses global security issues and is best known for its annual security summit at The Westin Nova Scotian in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This year’s conference was held over Nov 17-19.
While in Canada, Sikyong Penpa Tsering also met and engaged with a number of MP’s, government officials, and Tibet supporters in capital Ottawa to garner support for the Tibetan freedom struggle while raising the issue of Human Rights violation in Tibet under the People’s Republic of China, said another Tibet.net report Nov 23.
The MP’s he met with were stated to include Arif Virani Mr Arif Virani (who is the country’s Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada); Francois Blanchett, the leader of Bloc Québécois; Garnett Genuis, Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet; Alexis Brunelle; and Julie Vignola.
His discussions with them were stated to have focused on strengthening Canadian support to Tibet and speaking to them about the latest developments in the human rights situation in Tibet.
A farewell reception for him hosted by the Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet was stated to have been attended by the Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations Mr Gary Anandasangaree; The Minister of Diversity and Inclusion, and Persons with Disabilities Ms Kamal Khera; Minister Mr Arif Virani; the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Mr Dominic LeBlanc; and House of Commons Speaker Mr Greg Fergus.
It was also stated to have been attended by a long list of other MP’s that included James Maloney, Yvan Baker, Bryan May, Francesco Sorbara, Brendan Hanley, Jaime Battiste, Paul Chiang, Ryan Turnbull, Sameer Zuberi, Parm Bains, Fayçal El-Khoury, Joël Lightbound, Judy Sgro, John Williams, Kody Blois, David McGuinty, Adam van Koeverden, Garnett Genuis, Rob Oliphant, Brenda Shanahan, and Julie Vignola.