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French senators pledge support to Tibetan cause
A four-member French Senate delegation led by senator Jean-Francois Humbert, currently on a week-long visit to headquarters of the Tibetan government in-exile at Dharamsala, has pledged continued support to half-a-century-old non-violent Tibetan freedom movement.
A four-member French Senate delegation led by senator Jean-Francois Humbert, currently on a week-long visit to headquarters of the Tibetan government in-exile at Dharamsala, has pledged continued support to half-a-century-old non-violent Tibetan freedom movement.
The visit is being coordinated by the Tibetan Parliament in-exile of CTA. The other members of the delegation are senators Michel Berson, Bernard Fournier and Andre Gattolin.
Addressing a press conference here, he expressed hopes to invite representatives from Dharamsala to visit the French senate.
Earlier, Sikyong (Tibetan prime minister in-exile) Lobsang Sangay and speaker Penpa Tsering of the Tibetan Parliament had visited the French senate.
He added that the French senate would ask the Chinese government to allow a delegation of the French Parliamentary group to travel to Tibet. “We might not receive a favourable response to our request, but it would be a positive step, which will show we are willing to support the Tibetan people in this difficult time.”
The senators unanimously affirmed that the suffering of the Tibetan people inside Tibet is real and said “We condemn the cultural genocide that is going on inside Tibet.”
They also urged the international community to recognise the non-violent struggle of the Tibetans and indicated personal desires to visit Tibet and ascertain the situation themselves.
Earlier, the delegation had an audience with spiritual leader, 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorji. They also visited the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute (Mentseekhang). The delegation will visit the Tibetan Children's village school and various other Tibetan NGOs based in Dharamsala during the visit.
