Dharamshala: - The exile Tibetan Union of Organisations and Associations (UOA) held a press conference on May 16, during which it urged the Tibetan government-in-exile and the Indian government to address claims of a Chinese plot to poison His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
UOA President Yungden Gyatso outlined recent accusations that the Chinese authorities have trained female agents to attempt to assassinate His Holiness the Dalai Lama by offering him poisoned Khatas (ceremonial scarves). He said all Tibetans are gravely concerned about these claims and that the UOA plans to urgently petition the Indian government and Tibetan government-in-exile to increase His Holiness' security, and to urge the Chinese government to immediately cease any such activities.
Tenpey Ngodhup, former president of the Tibetan Three-Provinces Union, explained that the press conference also served to introduce the UOA to Tibetans living in exile.
The UOA was formed in 2011, since when it has held 17 prayer sessions dedicated to those Tibetans who have self-immolated and those who are held in Chinese prisons.
On May 17, it will hold a prayer meeting at the Tsuglag Khang temple in McLeodganj, to be attended by His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa, and monks, nuns and laypersons from Dharamsala.
Yungden Gyatso also told the press conference that the UOA had provided assistance to the Tibetan family who recently attempted to reach Tibet by foot. Tseten Dorjee, his mother Dhongpo Kyi, and younger sister Lhamo Ky, left Dharamsala on March 10, but were detained by border guards in Nepal on May 10 and subsequently sent back to India. Tseten Dorjee somehow made it back into Nepal, where he is apparently continuing his March.
The UOA includes eleven organisations, including the associations of each traditional Tibetan Province, the Middle-Way Policy Movement, the Tibetan National Former Political Prisoners' Association, and the Tibetan shopkeepers' and restaurant associations.
