(TibetanReview.net, Nov21’20) – The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) at Dharamsala, India, has described as “historic” a visit to the White House Nov 20 by its executive head, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, on an invitation to meet with the recently appointed US State Department’s Assistant Secretary and Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Mr Robert Destro. It suggested that the invitation amounted to recognition of the CTA and its “political head”.
The CTA claimed on its Tibet.net website that its head had been denied entry to the US State Department and White House over the last six decades. It contended that “the logic for both denials was that the US government does not recognize the Tibetan government in exile.
Today’s visit amounts to an acknowledgement of both the democratic system of the CTA and its political head,” it said.
It was not clear, however, which officials Sikyong Lobsang Sangay met with and what the outcome of those possible meetings were. The report only said he met with White House officials.
The report, however, referred to Sikyong Lobsang Sangay’s several virtual meetings earlier this week with Chairman Jim McGovern of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and senior Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffers, both on the Republican and Democrat side.
It also said he had “met with White House officials in undisclosed meetings and locations over a dozen times in the past 10 years since he became the CTA’s Sikyong in 2011.”
