Madrid, Spain: An Inter-parliamentary Group for Tibet, comprising of 29 senators, was officially launched in the Spanish Senate on 21 February 2023, which also coincided with Losar, the Tibetan New Year.
Parliamentarians Thubten Wangchen and Thupten Gyatso from Europe, Representative Rigzin Choedon Genkhang of the Office of Tibet Brussels, and Ringzin Dolma, President of the Tibetan community in Spain attended a Losar celebration at the Jamtse Dophenling Dharma Centre as per the invitation proffered by Geshe Lobsang Tendar and M. Jose Bermudez earlier that day.
Thereafter an inaugural function was held to launch the Spanish Inter-parliamentary Group for Tibet by Senator Robert Masih Nahar at the Manuel Giménez Abad hall of the Senate wherein Senator Robert Masih Nahar, President of the group, announced the primary goals of the parliamentary Tibet support group, followed by a video message of Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration. Sikyong Penpa Tsering welcomed the formation of the Inter-Parliamentary group for Tibet in the Spanish Senate on behalf of all the Tibetans led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and extended an invitation to the Senators to visit Dharamsala in near future.
Following that Parliamentarian Thubten Wangchen spoke on the significance of the inaugural function and that of the Inter-parliamentary Group for Tibet. While Parliamentarian Thupten Gyatso in his address highlighted the alarming situation of Tibet under the illegal Chinese occupation where the Tibetan identity dooms under threat of extinction. He spoke on the importance of resuming dialogue between the Tibetan representative with the Chinese counterpart through the Middle Way Policy to resolve the issue of Tibet and to bring peace in Asia. Finally, the MP urged the support of the Spanish government and Senate to Tibetans in resolving the issue of Tibet.
Representative Genkhang, office of Tibet of Brussels and Ringzin Dolma, President of the Tibetan community in Spain, also spoke on the occasion.
Finally, the Senators headed by Senator Robert Masih Nahar were presented with Tibetan ceremonial scarves, a pin of the Tibetan flag, and a dossier with important documents translated into Spanish. The inaugural function ended with a luncheon hosted by the Office of Tibet, Brussels, in honor of the members of the new group.
The launch of the Inter-Parliamentary Group for Tibet was attended by around 35 Senators and journalists.