Dharamsala : Speaker of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, Ven. Khenpo Sonam Tenphel landed safely at Zurich International Airport on 31 August 2017. He was welcomed with great exuberance by Ven. Thupten Lekmon, Abbot of Rikon Monastery, Mr. Ngodup Dorjee, Representative of the Office of Tibet, Ven. Thubten Wangchen and Jampa Tsering Samdho, Tibetan parliamentarians of Europe and Africa constituency, Mr. Thomas Büchli, President of Swiss-Tibetan Friendship Association as well as the Presidents of the Tibetan Community of Swiss and Liechtenstein, Tibetan youth Association Europe, Swiss Tibetan Women Organization and the representatives of various NGOS.
As per the tentative program, he will be visiting the Rikon Kühn factory, northeast of Zurich, Tibet Institute Rikon or Rikon monastery and museum. He will be attending an official meeting with the dignitaries in the evening today.
He will be attending the celebration of the 57th Tibetan Democracy day as the chief guest at the program venue, Mehrzeckhalle on 2 September 2017.
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Rikon Kühn factory, owned by Henri and Jacques Kuhn, offered work and accommodation to a large numbers of Tibetan refuges in Swiss. They also helped found a monastic Tibet Institution or Rikon Monastery, which is inaugurated by His holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The monastery helps in the provision of the spiritual and cultural needs of Tibetans in Switzerland, striving to preserve Tibetan culture and religion for the benefit of future generations of Tibetans
In 1961 Switzerland was one of the first countries in the Western hemisphere that allowed Tibetan refugees to settle in large numbers.
