(TibetanReview.net, Nov17’24) –The executive head, Sikyong Penpa Tsering, of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) at Dharamshala, India, has on Nov 15 delivered what was stated to be a powerful testimony before an extraordinary hearing of the Commission of Foreign Affairs in the Catalan Parliament. His testimony in the parliament of the Spanish Autonomous Community set the tone for his overarching advocacy efforts across Europe over the recent past, said the CTA on its Tibet.net website Nov 17.
The hearing was stated to have been chaired by the Catalan Parliament deputy Francesc de Dalmases, member of the Commission of Foreign Affairs, representing the Junts per Catalunya party.
The Tibetan Sikyong has briefed the hearing on the situation in Tibet today, highlighting the total of 157 known self-immolations by Tibetans protesting against the decades-long Chinese repression and occupation rule in their homeland.
He has explained that Tibet today is seeking autonomy, not independence, under a middle way policy envisioned decades ago by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader living in exile.
He has referred to the Resolve Tibet Act that was signed into law by US President Joe Biden on Jul 12 this year, recognizing China’s armed occupation and annexation of Tibet as illegal under international law and the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination, while promising active US support in countering China’s disinformation on the issue of Tibet.
The Tibetan Sikyong has asked the commission to consider adopting a similar position, including a resolution on the issue of the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, aligning with the US position on the issue.
This is in view of the fact that atheist China plans to install its own “reincarnation” of the current Dalai Lama when the time comes, totally throwing into wind the Tibetan Buddhists’ well-established, centuries-old, and intrinsically religious practice and procedure on this matter.
Those who attended the hearing were stated to have included several prominent deputies in the Catalan Parliament, representing leading political parties, including Ennatu Domingo and Agustí Colomines from the Junts per Catalunya; Anna Balsera from the Izquierda Republicana; and Andrés García Berrio from the Commons party.
The Tibetan Sikyong was stated to have been received earlier in the day by the parliament’s President Josep Rull and parliamentary board members Glòria Freixa i Vilardell and Juli Fernandez Olivares.
Rull, in his remarks, has honoured the courage and determination of the Tibetan people and expressed solidarity with them as they continued to remain subjected to deteriorating human rights situation under the Chinese occupation rule.
The Tibetan Sikyong has afterwards visited the Blanquerna University to give a special talk on the human rights situation in Tibet, hosted by the International Relations Degree Director Onno Seroo. It witnessed an impressive turnout of students from international relations, law and across disciplines, along with professors and heads of global organizations, the report said.
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Meanwhile, the delegation of Geshe Lharampa Gowo Lobsang Phende and Wangdue Dorjee from the Tibetan Parliament in Exile has concluded its Tibet advocacy tour of the Baltic States in Estonia on Nov 14.
The delegation’s concluding day programme began with a meeting in the parliament building of Estonia, organized by Juku-Kalle Raid, the Chair of the Tibet Support Group in the Estonian Parliament and member of the Estonia’s Foreign Affairs Commission. Those who attended it included MPs Henn Põlluaas, Kalle Laanet, Jüri Jaanson, Tõnis Lukas, and Tarmo Tamm, said another Tibet.net report Nov 17.
The Tibetan outreach and advocacy delegates were stated to have provided an update on the current critical situation in Tibet and were assured continued support for the Tibetan cause by the MPs.
They have also spoken to the high school students of Tallinna Reaalkool (Tallinn Secondary School of Science) and met with Ardi Hilpus, who had served as Estonian diplomat in Germany, Norway, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Russia.
The delegation’s visit to the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia concluded with a dinner with three Estonian parliamentarians and the Chair of the Tibet Support Group.