Berlin: - Tibet support group based in German capital Berlin has urged authorities of the Chinese government to solve the Tibet problems through a new start of Sino-Tibetan dialogue with Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the democratically elected political leader of Tibet and Tibetan people.
The new Tibetan Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay will take up his office in Dharamshala (India) On Monday, August 8. The Harvard academic will present his cabinet at the next parliamentary session in September. "China did not make use of the opportunity to solve the Tibet issue with the Dalai Lama", said Wolfgang Grader, chairman of the Tibet Initiative Deutschland (TID).
The German Tibet support group, "Tibet Initiative Deutschland" (TID) issued a statement two days before Dr. Lobsang Sangay's Swearing-in-ceremony of new political leader of Tibetans. "Now the Chinese government is getting a further opportunity to improve its international standing and to meet the requirements of a global power in the 21st century, said the TID statement dated August 5, 2011.
The Chinese leadership has refused to enter into any dialogue with the new Prime Minister so far, leading Grader to warn against too great expectations: "As with the Dalai Lama, Lobsang Sangay is not demanding independence, just complete autonomy for Tibet within the Chinese borders." However, there has been no progress in Sino-Tibetan negotiations over the past years.
Sangay's predecessor, Samdhong Rinpoche and the Dalai Lama will be among those present at the inauguration ceremony in the courtyard of the Tsuglagkhang temple. The latter had already announced his intention to devolve his political authority in March 2011 before the exile elections had begun. "By withdrawing, the Dalai Lama wanted to strengthen the democratization process, initiated by him within the Tibetan exile community", Grader explained.
"No Tibetan Prime Minister to date has had so much formal power as Lobsang Sangay." With immediate effect, the elected political leadership will take over all political and administrative duties. For this reason, TID hopes that the German government will now also agree to build relations with the democratically elected representative of the Tibetan people.
His Holiness "the Dalai Lama's withdrawal from politics went hand in hand with a change to the constitution, ratified by the Tibetan Parliament during a special session at the end of May. In article 1 of the exile constitution, the Dalai Lama is now referred to as "the protector and symbol of Tibet and the Tibetan people". Moreover, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people is to act as advisor to the exile government," it noted.
The Tibet Initiative Deutschland (TID), founded in 1989, advocates for the Tibetan people's right to self-determination and the protection of human rights in occupied Tibet. With 60 regional groups and nearly 2,000 members throughout Germany, the TID is a strong voice for Tibet. Primary funding for the TID comes from membership dues and private, individual donations.
