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Emergency meeting on the future of Tibet in November

By Lobsang Wangyal | Tibet Sun

Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche giving the outline of the emergency meeting in November during the sixth session of the 14th parliament on 15 September 2008. The meeting was called for by the Dalai Lama for Tibetans to discuss the future course of Tibet.Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal/India

An emergency meeting on the future of Tibet will be held in Dharamshala from 17 to 22 November.

The decision was taken by the Tibetan parliament-in-exile and the Executive body of the exile government during the current sixth session.

The Dalai Lama called for the meetng on 12 September, using his privilege enshrined in Article 59 of the Charter of the Tibetans-in-exile, asking Tibetan people to decide the future course of action for Tibet. It is the first time the Dalai Lama had used his prerogative and convened such a meeting.

He called the meeting in an apparent acceptance of lack of any progress in the talks between his envoys and the Chinese leaders. Talks between the two sides started in September 2002 after a hiatus of about a decade.

In a letter sent to the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile on 12 September, he wrote, “The emergency meeting has been called to discuss the future of Tibet considering the recent unrest in Tibet and the changing international situation.”

Samdhong Rinpoche, the Prime Minster of the Tibetan government-in-exile, who presented the outline of the meeting in the House, said that the Dalai Lama will not attend the meeting. “The presence of His Holiness in the meeting may cause hindrance for many to speak their minds and present their views,” says Rinpoche.

“In order to have free expression of the participants, and to avoid his influence in the meeting, His Holiness will not attend,” Rinpoche says.

The meeting in November will be held at the Tibetan Children’s Village School auditorium attended by all the members of the exile parliament, the ministers, ex-parliamentarians and ministers, representatives of the exile government abroad, department secretaries, heads of settlements, leaders of the NGOs, heads of the schools, community leaders and representatives from the religious groups.

Twenty-five active members from India, Nepal and Bhutan, and 25 active members and scholars from other countries will be included in the meeting. These 50 attandants must bear their own expenses.

Discussions will be held among smaller groups for four days, and the results of these will be compiled to bring out a final report on the sixth day of the meeting.

Copyright © 2008 Tibet Sun

Published in Tibet Sun