(TibetanReview.net, Oct15’24) –Sikyong (executive head), Mr Penpa Tsering, of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) held a series of high-level meetings at the Senate and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic while visiting the country to attend the 28th Forum 2000 in capital Prague, said the CTA on its Tibet.net website Oct 15. Among those attending the Forum was former President Dr Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan.
The high-level meetings followed the Forum’s plenary session on the second day on Oct 14 and began in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the Tibetan Sikyong held discussions with Veronica Mitkova, Director of the Human Rights and Transition Policy Department, and Patrick Rumlar, Deputy Director of the Asia Department.
Mitkova has provided insights on how the Czech government had raised the issue of Tibet in multilateral forums and on international platforms. She has also offered ideas on making the 90th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which would be a significant event in Czechia. The CTA plans to observe the exile Tibetan spiritual leader’s 90th birthday with a series of year-long events next year.
Rumlar was stated to have “candidly expressed the stance of Czech parliamentarians on the Tibetan cause”.
The Tibetan Sikyong has next met with Mr Pavel Fischer, a Member of the Czech Senate, at his office. The two were stated to have discussed ways to transform the deep emotional and sympathetic sentiment that the people of Czechia had towards the Tibetan people into a more rational and strategic approach.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering has also met with Mr Jiří Oberfalzer, the Vice President of the Czech Senate, welcomed by Hayato Okamura, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, to both of their offices. Known for his active participation in Tibet events, Mr Okamura has said many in Czechia were deeply sensitive to human rights issues and would stand in solidarity with the Tibetan cause.
During the meeting with Mr Okamura, Katerina, Secretary of the Friends of Tibet Support Group in the Czech Republic, has presented to the Tibetan Sikyong a booklet showcasing the initiatives the group had undertaken in collaboration with the Tibetan community in support of the Tibetan cause.
Earlier, on his arrival in the Czech capital on Oct 13, the Tibetan Sikyong has met with representatives Zuzana from the Potala Himalayan Centre and Edita Kleckerová from the Lungta, both Tibet support groups in the country. Their discussions were stated to have centred on plans for celebrations marking the 90th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with particular focus on project implementations.
Later in the evening. The Tibetan Sikyong has met with Mr Fernando Iglesias, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina, and Mr Claudio Javier Rozencwaig, Ambassador of Argentina to the Czech Republic, at the 28th Forum 2000 which was held from Oct 13 to 15.
The Prague visit was the final destination of the Tibetan Sikyong’s tour of Europe this month which included Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg in that order, beginning Oct 7.
The 28th Forum 2000 opened on Oct 13 evening in the Prague Congress Centre. Tsai Ing-Wen and the Tibetan Sikyong were prominently seated in the front row, the report noted. The keynote speakers at the opening ceremony included Mr Miloš Vystrčil, President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, and Mr Walter Russell Mead, the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College and who had taught American foreign policy at Yale University and served as the editor-at-large of The American Interest magazine.
The event provided a distinguished platform for dignitaries to engage in meaningful dialogue and exchange ideas on strengthening democratic values.
Forum 2000 is a foundation and conference of the same name held in Prague, Czech Republic. The foundation was founded in 1996 as a joint initiative of the then Czech President Václav Havel, Japanese philanthropist Yohei Sasakawa, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel.