Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile: The Second Session of the Year

By Tenzin Samten / September 24, 2018;

Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile delivering the opening remarks of the sixth session of the 16th Tibetan Parilament-in-Exile
Photo: tibet.net

The 16th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile based in Dharamshala, the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, started off its sixth parliament session from September 18. During the ten-day session, parliament has pledged to exert efforts to alleviate the sufferings of Tibetans inside Tibet and to peacefully resolve the issue of Tibet.

The proposed reform of the election system for the Tibetan Government-in-Exile has been discussed and initially approved, but has stalled due to legal arguments. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, President of the Government-in-Exile, has introduced the proposed amendment to enable a one-time election instead of the existing two rounds of voting, following the last election in 2016.

The seven departments of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), are presenting their annual reports for discussion.

Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Speaker of the Parliament, in his opening remarks at the inauguration of the session, expressed grave concern at the deteriorating human right situation inside Tibet and condemned the China’s regressive policies on religious freedom and the practices of Tibetan Buddhism.

“The Tibetan parliament is also greatly concerned about Tibet’s fragile ecosystem and China’s flawed environmental policy. China’s incessant and flagrant exploitation of Tibetan environment, resources and waters not only undermines Tibet’s ecosystem, it could also contribute to an unrestorable environmental crisis and climate change across Asia in the foreseeable future,” he said.

He urged members of the parliament to conduct the parliament session with the interest of six million Tibetans in heart.

Official resolutions unanimously adopted during the inaugural session were, firstly to mourn the passing of three friends of Tibet: former Deputy Speaker of Tibetan Parliament Drashi Gyapon Kelsang Dadul; former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and United States Senator John McCain, and secondly to adopt the proposal of an official resolution of solidarity with the sufferings of Tibetans inside Tibet.

The current session is the second one of the year. The first session held early this year discussed the yearly budgets where legislators sanctioned budgets for the departments under the CTA. There are seven CTA departments: Religion and Culture, Home, Finance, Education, Security, Information and International Relations and Health.

The ten-day session will conclude on September 28.