Frankfurt, Germany – Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the democratically elected political leader of the Tibetan people, was received by Tibetan communities in both New York and Frankfurt during his international tour.
His public address in New York City on November 24th was attended by Representative Penpa Tsering, Office of Tibet, Washington DC, United States staff of the Office of Tibet, members of local Tibetan organizations and thousands of local Tibetans.
“The farsighted vision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to establish democratic administration in Tibetan governance, monastic institutions and schools was aimed to represent all Tibetans from three regional provinces of Tibet as one. In order to take our movement forward, each one of us must eschew regionalism and invest our time and efforts in sustaining and strengthening our movement.
“The underlying source of motivation for our efforts and struggle is the unswerving spirit and determination of our brothers and sisters inside Tibet. Tens of thousands of Tibetans have been killed, injured and imprisoned. In face of such an upheaval, Tibetans inside Tibet have shown remarkable example of resilience and unity to safeguard Tibetan identity, culture, religion.”
“Achievement of this shared aspiration of our brothers and sisters primarily rests upon our continued efforts in the long run and henceforth, under the unparalleled leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we must all collaborate and revamp our efforts to pursue the just cause of the Tibetan people with dignity and unity.”
Sikyong emphasized that the primary vision of the Middle Way Policy of the Central Tibetan Administration is to preserve and promote the unique identity of the Tibetan people, while ensuring the unity of the three provinces under the framework of a genuine autonomy.
He applauded the Tibetan youth who performed several cultural dances, and commended all the Tibetan parents, members of Tibetan local associations and volunteers at the weekend Tibetan language school, for their work in preserving and passing the rich Tibetan culture and traditional knowledge to the rising generations.
The next day he continued his tour to Frankfurt, Germany where he addressed the local Tibetan public in Frankfurt on 25 November, expressing the need to retain Tibetan identity and culture in exile.
Also in Frankfurt, Sikyong attended a round table conference organized by the Schwarz-Schilling Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Germany. Mr Sonam Norbu Dagpo, Secretary of Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) and Mr Ngodup Dorjee, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama based in Geneva, Switzerland, accompanied Sikyong during the meeting.
