(TibetanReview.net, Dec28’24) –A delegation of Tibet supporters in the Estonian Parliament is on a visit to Dharamshala and has met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as top leaders of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), presenting each of them with what is understood to be a separate letter of support from the parliament’s Speaker, according to a report posted on the CTA’s Tibet.net website Dec 28 from the Tibetan Parliament in Exile (TPiE).
The report suggested that the letters from Mr Lauri Hussar, President of the Riigikogu, was in the form of a Christmas greeting card.
The delegation, led by Roy Strider, Coordinator of the Tibet Support Group in the Estonian Parliament, has visited the TPiE on Dec 27 and met with its Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel and Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang.
Apart from the Christmas letter card, the Tibetan Speaker was stated to have been presented with gifts from Mr Juku-Kalle Raid, Chair of the Tibet Support Group in the Estonian Parliament, and from the Parliament of Estonia.
Roy Strider has called the Estonian parliamentary gestures a huge step in support for the just cause of Tibet.
The letter for His Holiness the Dalai Lama was stated to have been delivered during the delegation’s morning meeting with the exile Tibetan spiritual leader on the same day, with that for the CTA’s Sikyong, Mr Penpa Tsering, being slated to be delivered during an upcoming meeting.
The Tibetan Speaker and Deputy Speaker have briefed the visiting delegation with updates on the situation in Tibet – which they have described as critical – and the works of the TPiE in carrying forward the Tibetan campaign. They have emphasized the role of the Dalai Lama in the Tibetan campaign, with information that the CTA will mark Jul 6, 2025 – Jul 5, 2026 as “Year of Compassion” to mark his 90th birthday. They have suggested the possibility of a related initiative or commemoration from the Estonian Parliament or public to mark this special occasion.