Dharamshala: A delegation of the United States comprised of Ryan Fioresi – senior advisor to the Under Secretary Uzra Zeya, the United States special coordinator for Tibetan issue – along with other officials; Representative Dr. Namgyal Choedup of the Office of Tibet (OoT), Washington DC; and Tenchoe Gyatso, the president of the International Campaign for Tibet visited the Tibetan parliament-in-Exile and met with Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang and members of the standing committee earlier today.

During their meeting, they discussed important issues of common interest and exchanged ideas through a Q&A session. Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang highlighted the fact that the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) is the true representative of Tibetan people and the US delegation’s presence at the seat of the CTA sends a strong message to the world that Tibet’s issue is still alive.

Describing how Tibetans led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama have shown compassion and resilience even in the face of adversity, the Deputy Speaker further stated that Tibet matters because nonviolence, peace, and truth matter.

As the indomitable courage and determination of Tibetans inside Tibet and their faith in His Holiness the Dalai Lama is stronger than ever, the Deputy Speaker said that Tibetans have sympathy and stand in solidarity with the Chinese people who are suffering the same fate under the communist regime and are in fact against the China’s leadership.

“Our struggle is a symbolism of non-violent approach and peace”, said the Deputy Speaker while extending gratitude to the United States for the bipartisan support in passing a number of Tibet related acts and there is a need for India to adopt a similar approach to counter the Chinese encroaching on its border.

To make China accountable for its human rights violations, the Deputy Speaker insisted on having a multilateral approach of like-minded powers to show mirror to China for its atrocities and make it follow the international law including the UN charter.

The Deputy Speaker also spoke on some of the pressing issues faced by Tibetans inside of Tibet including the colonial boarding schools which is isolating Tibetan children from their own culture, language, religion, and heritage by indoctrinating them with communist ideologies.

Following a Q&A session, the visiting guests were presented with souvenirs and Tibetan ceremonial scarves by the Deputy Speaker. The delegates were also taken on a tour of the parliament hall before the commencement of their meeting at the standing committee’s hall.