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Photo: tibet.net

The President of the Tibetan government-in-exile officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Dr. Lobsang Sangay, and a delegation of legislators from the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile visited Canada to attend official programs from June 12 to June 17. The parliamentary delegation was comprised of Dhondup Tashi Tsaneytsang, Tenpa Yarphel, Migyur Dorjee and Namgyal Dolkar Lhagyari.

The delegation attended the “Thank You Canada” event in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada on June 12. The event which is a part of the ‘Thank You Year”, a year-long campaign of the CTA to mark the onset of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 60th year in exile. The chief guest at the event was Melanie Joly, the Canadian Minister of Multiculturalism, and the event was attended by close to 200 people including the local Tibetan community.

In his address, Dr Sangay referring to what His Holiness the Dalai Lama had advised, to make new friends, while remembering the old friends, thanked Canada and its people and the friends of Tibet for being with Tibet and its people throughout.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama thanking Canada in a video
Photo: tibet.net

On this occasion, His Holiness the Dalai Lama also thanked the Canadian government and the people for their continued support for Tibet and Tibetan people through a video message.

The next day, the Senate Standing Committees on Human Rights, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade hosted a special meeting to hear the delegation speak on Tibet’s geopolitical importance and aspirations of Tibetan people. During the event, Dr Sangay stressed on Tibetans’ pursuit of non-violence in their struggle against China’s constant exploitation of Tibetan heritage. He also criticised the imprisonment of Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wanchuk. He said that in contrast to the delegation from the so-called ‘Tibet Autonomous Region’ (TAR), the delegation led by him represents the true aspirations of the Tibetan people.

Tibetan Parliamentarians
Photo: phayul.com

During an interview with Canada’s National Post, Dr Sangay said, “Amid recent uncertainty with Canada’s biggest trade partner, the United States, it makes economic sense to engage with China. But Canada should be careful not to self-censor or turn a blind eye to human rights abuses by the Chinese government.”