Sikyong addressing members of the Swedish Tibet Committee, Tibetan youth and members of the Tibetan community
Photo: CTA
Sikyong Penpa Tsering, President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), led a delegation of members of the Tibetan Parliament to Germany, Belgium and Sweden where they visited Tibetan communities and supporters of the Tibetan movement. During this two week official trip, Sikyong met key members of the Freidrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, a non-profit German foundation for liberalism, Tibet support groups and aid groups as well as influential individuals and supporters. Sikyong addressed all the Tibetan communities in the regions he visited.
In Germany, the CTA delegation was welcomed by Representative Thinely Chukki, Office of Tibet (OOT) Geneva and the Munich Tibetan Community on their arrival on October 9. The delegation met Dr Wolfgang Heubisch, Vice President of the Bavarain State Parliament and former Minister for Culture and Media in Munich; representatives of the Young Liberals, Germany’s largest liberal youth o
rganisation and the young wing of the nations’ Free Democratic Party (FDP) located in Berlin; and the German Member of Parliament Valentine Abel, who is youngest Member of Parliament and Andre Lehman, his aid.
The Tibetan delegation met other members of the German Parliament, among them was MdB Peter Heidt, Spokeman for human rights and Humanitarian Aid for the parliamentary group in the German Federal Parliament; MdB Frank Muller-Rosentritt, a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations with a focus on Asia and China; and the Co-Chair of the German Parliamentary Group for Tibet. The meeting, which was held in the German parliament, was an opportunity for a briefing on the current critical situation inside Tibet.
CTA delegation with with German Parliamentarians Michael Brand and Klaus-Peter Willsch
Photo : CTA
The Tibetans witnessed the parliamentary proceeding of the Hessen parliament and met the former Prime Minister of the German state of Hessen.
Their time in Germany concluded with a visit to Tibethause Deutschland in Frankfurt where Sikyong gave a talk on Tibet entitled Rich Culture-Prosperous Future.
In Brussels, the delegation met Members of the European Parliament(MEP) and of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation as well as members of the Tibetan Interest Group(TIG) in the Euro
pean Union. Mr Alessandro Chiocchetti, Head of the Cabinet, and the President of the European Parliament along with his advisors and assistants discussed the human rights situation in Tibet and Sikyong requested the European Parliament to support Tibet by inviting His Holiness the Dalai Lama to visit the European Parliament in the near future. The Tibetan delegation visited the Office of the Tibet, Brussels with the Netherland Community Association’s President and members.
They were interviewed by the Brussels daily La Libre Belgique. Their interviews and briefings included information on the most pressing issues in Tibet, including the repression of Tibetans under China’s “Zero Covid Policy”, the mass collection of the DNA of the Tibetan population, the colonial style boarding schools in Tibet which children are forced to attend and to be subjected to indoctrination of Chinese culture, and the violation of freedom of religion.
The CTA delegation with the Tibetan community of Munich
Photo : CTA
Sikyong gave a public talk to Tibetan Community in Berlin and the keynote address at the International Campaign for Tibet’s Snow Lion Human Rights Award Ceremony.
Sikyong then visited Stockholm in Sweden and he was greeted by the Office of Tibet, London representative and the President of the Swedish Tibet Committee, as well as members of the Tibetan Community in Sweden. He met Swedish Members of Parliament do discuss the Tibetan situation; MP Margareta Cerdefelt promised to re-establish a Tibet support group in Sweden. The delegation met the the Swedish Tibet Committee, local young Tibetans and other members of the Tibetan Community in Sweden.
The European trip was organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, a German foundation for liberal and libertarian politics, related to the Free Democratic Party promoting individual freedom and classical liberalism.
Print
Email