International conference backs Dalai Lama’s authority on reincarnation

All representatives attending the three-day “Democratic China and Future of Tibet Forum” unanimously emphasised that the Chinese Communist authorities had no right to interfere in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama

The participants of an international conference have unanimously confirmed that Tibetan spiritual leader 14th Dalai Lama and his Gaden Phodrang Trust designed by him has the final authority on the reincarnation.

Notably, in July last year, the Dalai Lama announced that the 600-year-old institution of spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists will continue after his death. (HT)

All representatives attending the three-day “Democratic China and Future of Tibet Forum” unanimously emphasised that the Chinese Communist authorities had no right to interfere in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

The conference brought together 29 Tibetan and Chinese study scholars, experts and human rights activists from India, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and Southern Mongolia. It was Organised by the Tibetan Community Development Fund (TCDF) in collaboration with the Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and concluded on Wednesday with the five key declarations.

These declarations addressed non-violence, a shared democratic future, Tibetan democracy and history, the reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and the legal implications of China’s so-called law on the promotion of ethnic unity and progress.

Notably, in July last year, the Dalai Lama announced that the 600-year-old institution of spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists will continue after his death and a trust created by him will be the sole authority to recognise his reincarnation.

One of the declarations of the forum reaffirmed non-violence as a common fundamental principle. Participants emphasised the importance of peaceful, practical and dialogical approaches to resolving the Sino-Tibetan conflict and recognised non-violent resistance as a shared principle connecting the Tibetan and Chinese democratic movements.

Another declaration examined China’s law on the promotion of ethnic unity and progress from a legal and human rights perspective. Participants expressed serious concerns about its potential implications for the languages, cultures and identities of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Southern Mongolians and other ethnic communities, and called for the repeal of the law.