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Nobel Peace laureates to celebrate 'Thank you Tibet'

By Lobsang Wangyal | Tibet Sun

Nobel peace laureates Jody Williams (right) and Mairead Maguire during a press conference in Dharamshala, India, on 28 October 2009. Williams, Maguire and Shirin Ebadi of Iran (not present during the press conference) announced the Thank You Tibet! campaign, which is to promote the Tibetan cause in an event in New York City on 4 March 2010.Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal/India

Three women Nobel Peace Laureates on Tuesday announced the launch of ‘Thank you Tibet’ campaign to promote the Tibetan cause, during a press conference in Dharamshala.

After months of campaign, a grand event featuring celebration of Tibetan culture will be held in New York City on 4 March 2010. The Nobel laureates say the campaign is being launched to mark Tibetan people’s 50 years in exile, and will help strengthen the unique Tibetan cultural values that the world is in danger of losing.

“They are a model for all of us: despite the attack on their people and the displacement of their culture they preach and practice compassion and respect for the dignity of every person,” the three peace laureates Jody Williams, Mairead Maguirem, and Shirin Ebadi said in their joint statement.

Nobel Women’s Initiative, an organisation established by the three Nobel Peace laureates along with other women peace laureates Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchu Tum and Betty Williams, is organising the campaign.

“The Tibetans made an extraordinary choice to engage in peaceful nonviolent protest to the destruction of their culture and the take over of their homeland. By doing so, they followed in the great Indian example of Mahatma Gandhi,” the statement said.

The peace laureates said Tibetans had set an admirable example to the world by making a peaceful transition from ancient traditions of leadership by a small group of hereditary rulers to government by democratically elected leaders.

“Today, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community in exile ask for the freedom to practice and preserve their culture. Governments of the region and of the world should press the government of China to have constructive dialogue with representatives of the Tibetan people.”

The Nobel laureates also called on Burma’s regional neighbours to ask the government of Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, and engage in a process of inclusive constitutional review with all stakeholders before holding elections.

The three women Nobel laureates are in Dharamshala to participate in the Peace Jam, an international education programme for youth to interact with Nobel laureates. They honoured the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people on the occasion of 50 years in exile for Tibetan people’s belief and contribution to peace and non-violence.

Copyright © 2009 Tibet Sun

Published in Tibet Sun