Kalon Tripa Dr. Lobsang Sangay during a meet the press event after the oath-taking ceremony at Kashag Secretariat in Dharamsala on 8 August 2011/Photos by David Chitai Huang/TibetNet
Around 92 journalists from India and abroad covered the historic swearing-in of Dr. Lobsang Sangay as the 3rd democratically elected Kalon Tripa of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala on 8 August 2011. During a Meet the Press event on the day, Kalon Tripa Dr. Lobsang Sangay answered questions on a wide-range of issues such as policy formulation, reforms, and challenges to resolve the issue of Tibet that he will take on during his leadership.
Question: I express my warm Tashi Delek and congratulations to you on assuming the charge as Kalon Tripa of the Central Tibetan Administration. My first question is who will be the new Kalons in your cabinet. Secondly, as Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche stated earlier, there is a problem with regard to shortage of staff in the administration. How are you going to deal with that?
Kalon Tripa Dr. Lobsang Sangay: As I promised during my campaigns, I promised to appoint three elders and four younger Kalons. And as per my pledge, I am going to keep the promise and appoint three elders and four younger ones. And I will do my best to appoint from three traditional provinces and women representatives too. So all those will be followed to the best I can and the list will be issued on the day when I have to submit the names to the parliament when it comes in session on September 16th. I think it’s too early now.
And about the staff issue, since it’s my duty, I will do a detailed study of the issue and do my best to solve the problem. Not only that, keeping with my election manifesto of innovation and self determination, I will study the policies implemented before and if necessary, make the required changes. Moreover, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche assured me that he will give his full fledged support regarding any new decisions that I take or any changes that I make to the old policies.
Question: It’s a big jump from Harvard to Dharamsala to take over the political leadership from the Dalai Lama. So are you more horrified or more excited about the new job and what is your biggest difference compared to the Dalai Lama as a political leader?
Kalon Tripa: First of all, I don’t think my role is to fill in the shoes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I think it’s an impossible task. I don’t think any Tibetan would attempt to do that. Rather my responsibility is to fulfill his vision of establishing a secular democratic Tibetan society and to live up to his expectation that Tibetan people stand on their own feet and provide leadership [political leadership] to the Tibetan freedom movement so that we can strengthen and sustain the movement for a prolonged period of time till His Holiness returns to Tibet and our freedom is restored to the Tibetan people. That is my goal.
And as for whether I am horrified or not, at a personal level, perhaps I am bit excited in the sense I ran for this post. I am sure any Tibetan youngsters when they were in schools, they would dream of providing political leadership to the Tibetan people. In that sense, my dream is achieved and in some ways I fought for this position. But at a more public level, I have a very sobering kind of a feeling because the duty that I have to fulfill is quite painful because the news that I’ll read on a daily basis is not going to be a pleasant one. It’s more often about someone getting arrested, someone being tortured, someone being killed, like our representative in Nepal being arrested. So on a daily basis, as an individual, when I read about those stories, I could feel it and I can live with it. But now, I have to not only feel it but decide on what to do and because it’s a struggle, it will be a difficult one. It’s about people without our own homeland and the people back home in Tibet, brave men and women, on a daily basis, they are struggling and trying to resist a very powerful system that is very oppressive. So in that sense, very sobering that from today on, I have to take on this daunting task to live up to the expectation of six million Tibetans and provide leadership and at the same time it’s also painful in some ways that my parents, when they fled Tibet, all Tibetans both inside and outside Tibet have very painful experiences. For example, my grandmother died on the way, my uncle died on the way, another uncle went back to fight the Chinese army and never came back. My aunt committed suicide when she was pregnant with an infant child by jumping into a river, my father was a monk, he was forced to become a guerrilla fighter and fought against the Chinese army and got wounded. This is my personal story. This story is a story of all the Tibetans that they have lost so much; they have sacrificed so much with a hope that one day we will be able to return to our homeland with freedom. So at family level, it’s a painful one. I have to be cognizant of the painful legacies of my family and of the families of the six million Tibetans and the continuing sufferings the Tibetans are undergoing in Tibet on a daily basis. I have to decide and take leadership on those issues. In that sense, painful and sobering yet exciting to the level one could be excited about.
Question: China has made it clear that they will not proceed with any kind of dialogues or talks with you. So how will you deal with that issue?
Kalon Tripa: I have said this often. For us the process or the personality is not the primary factor. If the Chinese government doesn’t want to talk to me as a person or they don’t want to deal with the Tibetan administration, these are secondary factors for us. What we want is the result. What we care about is the substance. If the Chinese government is interested to solve the issue of Tibet, on the basis of mutual interest for long lasting peace in China and for their own sake of territorial integrity and sovereignty, which guarantees genuine autonomy for Tibetan people, we are willing to find innovative ways to deal with the process and the personality. For example if the Chinese government says, we want to talk only with the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, that’s fine with us. We will appoint an envoy in the name of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and send him or her to Beijing to talk about the substantive issues. What we are interested is the substantive aspect of the problem. So Beijing simply cannot say just because they don’t like the person, they can’t deal with the process. If they are interested to move forward, we have extended our hand all along, we extend our hand even now, anytime, anywhere to resolve the issue of Tibet because the sufferings of Tibetans in Tibet is real. As I said in my statement, when the Chinese first came to Tibet, they promised us socialist paradise. But what you see in Tibet is not socialism, its colonialism. It’s not a paradise, it’s a tragedy. So we have to address the tragic situation in Tibet. We have to end the colonial mindset of the Chinese leadership. So that we can resolve the issue peacefully. We have gone to the extent that we could and we are still waiting and willing to take steps to meet the Chinese leadership whenever and wherever.
Question: Since 1959, there has been considerable and continuous damage to Tibet’s natural environment which has reached an alarming level now. What steps are you going to take on this issue?
Kalon Tripa: As I said in the statement, the Tibetans had been the guardian of the Tibetan plateau along with its mountains and rivers. As per experts after Antarctica and Arctic, Tibet has the largest deposit of ice or snow, which is the source of fresh water for 2 billion people in Asia. Tibet is also the source of ten major rivers in Asia. In some ways, we can claim that the major portion of Asian people drink Tibetan water from Brahmaputra, Indus and Yangtze. So all this time for more than 2-3 millennium, as guardian of the Tibetan plateau and rivers, we have been, based on the Buddhist principles, willing to share or let the natural course of the river flow to the population it deserves because many people on the downstream of the river or rivers, survives on agriculture and fisheries. We have shared that for all these years. Now the Chinese government is damming these rivers and disrupting the natural flow of these rivers has negative impact on the environment. So in that sense, it is an interest for the people in Asia that our traditional role or historical role of being the guardian of the Tibetan plateau and Tibetan environment be restored so that we can continue the natural flow these rivers and share with our neighbours which we have done for all these years. So Tibet is vitally important, not just for the Tibetan people, but for the people in Asia as a whole. Mekong River flows all the way to Thailand and Vietnam as well. So lot is at stake for the people in Asia as far as Tibet’s environment is concerned.
And as far as I am concerned, as I have stated in my speech, I will be more forthright and frank on these issues and point out things which the Chinese government is doing which is harming our environment and exploiting our mineral resources. So all that will be raised at international forums and we will debate this with the people in Asia and the international community.
Question: Do you think that Tibetans in exile are keen to return home?
Kalon Tripa: Yes. I left America. I have left my job at Harvard University for the time being. I have left my family there for some time. I have left my job as well, to return to India, to provide political leadership to the Tibetan people. Because I want to return to the homeland which belongs to me and to our people. I’ll give you an example. In 2008, I used to get calls from my uncle. He used to say, I am the last remaining member of my father’s family among, I think, 9 or 10 members of the family. He said we have to meet because I am the only one he hasn’t met. And we talked on the phone but I never met him. And since my father passed away in 2004, I have this longing, to meet with the last remaining member of my father’s family. And I believe, that is the dream of every Tibetan, to meet the last remaining members of your family in Tibet. But he (my uncle) passed away in 2008. It’s a very painful experience. For all my life, I could hear only voices of my relatives in Tibet. I want to reunite with their family members back home in Tibet. That is the dream, that is the desire, that’s why I am here. We all want to go to Tibet for sure.
Question: In some settlements, there is a huge number of old aged people. And due to the decrease in the new arrivals from Tibet, classes face shortage of students in some schools and also, in the monasteries we have to take a lot of monks from the Himalayan regions. What do you as the new kalon Tripa plan to do about it?
Kalon Tripa: I have visited most of the settlements and the monasteries during my campaign and I have witnessed the problem first hand. I think it’s a very important issue and I have given a lot of thought about it. And as and when I take some decisions regarding those matters, I will let everyone know about it.
Question: Is there any plan to meet Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh in the coming days?
Kalon Tripa: Well, as of now its my first day, so I don’t have a plan. But I when I was interviewed by NDTV’s Sonia Singh, she told me that prime minister Manmohan Singh also studied under the street light which I did when I was studying at a Tibetan refugee school. He was an academician who return to India to serve the Indian people and he is doing a great job. I am a big admirer of him and given a chance I would like to meet many people including prime minister Manmohan Singh.
Question: You said in your statement that you plan to churn out 10,000 professionals from the Tibetans living in exile, but at the same time there are other fields like sports, arts, culture, and show biz in which Tibetans are not doing very well. So is there any plans to promote youngsters in these fields. Besides there is also Miss Tibet competition every year which has remained a low profile event. Is there any plan to revive it on a large scale?
Kalon Tripa: I will do the best I can to have Tibetan artists, singers and painters. As a priority, trying to achieve 10,000 professionals in twenty years time is the goal of this administration. I will put much of my effort because I came from a very humble background and because of education I am here today. So I know the importance of education, that if you give proper education to an individual you can not only change that person’s life but also help his family and community and become an effective leader in the movement as a whole. In that sense, for the short-, mid- and long-term interest, having good education and having as many Tibetan professionals is very important and that will be our priority. Regarding the Miss Tibet event, I wish they will do better because one of the three principles that I land on are unity, innovation and self-reliance. So based on unity, if you come with innovative means, you should go head and do it. But at the same time, it should be self-reliant that you have to do it, as much as possible you could, independently. So you can’t expect the Tibetan administration to involve in, or interfere in, or invest in all the activities that is needed for the Tibetan cause. We have a role to play, we will play. But I think if one uses innovative means to do certain things, including Miss Tibet and other things, you should go head and do it.
Question: In your statement you have mentioned about Tibet Policy Institute. Could you please elaborate what this institute will do?
Kalon Tripa: The Tibet Policy Institute will be like any think tank. Its objective is to analyse the situation and predict based on the analysis on issues of Tibetans in exile in the next 5 to 10 years, Tibetans in India, India and China, Tibet and China, Tibetans in Europe and America, Tibetan language, culture, identity and movement in the coming 50 years. The idea is to have around seven scholars to do research related programmes in the administration. Through integration and coordination of all these research related programmes, we will have a close network where all the researchers will meet, study and analyse Tibet-related issues which will have impact in 5 to 50 years. Based on that we will try to formulate policies, programmes, actions and events. So we will invite scholars from all around the world, perhaps to give lectures, hold panel discussions and major conferences. We hope the Tibet Policy Institute will be running pretty soon.
Question: His Holiness the Dalai Lama and outgoing Kalon Tripa Prof Samdhong Rinpoche in their statements used the term Sikyong, which means political leader. As His Holiness stated, when he reached the age of 16, regent Tagdrag handed over to him the political leadership. Today, when he is handing over the political leadership to you, would you more comfortable or prefer to use the term Kalon Tripa or Sikyong?
Kalon Tripa: Well, I fully respect His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s view. I am here with the blessings of His Holiness to take on the political leadership and I enjoy the extended historical legitimacy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I have also tremendous respect for Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche. Having said that, now it is for the Tibetan people and the Parliament to decide which title they want to choose and accordingly I will abide by the Parliamentary and the people’s decision. As it stands today I am Kalon Tripa and I will be Kalon Tripa till there are changes.
Question: In one of your answers regarding the negotiation process with China, you said you will try to work with China and put process over the personality. If I am not wrong you have said that you will appoint the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Are you hinting that you are going to change the envoys or appoint new envoys?
Kalon Tripa: I am not hinting anything. What I am saying is, if the Chinese government wants to talk with the envoys in the name of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we will facilitate that. Or, if the Chinese government wants to talk with me directly, I will have to send my representatives. And if they say they want to talk with someone in the name of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we will facilitate that as well. So no hints.
Question: What kind of political support are you expecting from the European Union countries and European countries because the Tibet question is very difficult for the European countries for economic reasons. What are you expecting and hoping for?
Kalon Tripa: Europe has personal and deep experience as to what it means to have freedom and to deny with freedom. So the Tibetan people are struggling for same thing that the Europeans enjoy and it is enshrined in the constitutions of the European countries. I was elected with democratic mandate. What I stand for is very much on principles of Europe, the US, India and all the free world. I would expect and request, and appeal to democratic countries around the world that I am a democratically elected leader. Similarly, I hope that they will extend the same support for me as they expected, particularly, in Europe during the second world war as many of them went to London to form exile governments and to some other countries. So they have the experience of being in exile and struggles as well. So I appeal to them to support and extend support the same way as they had expected when they were in exile. And what they enjoy now, we want the same thing for Tibetan people.
Question: Give his vast experience, is there any plans to appoint Prof Samdhong Rinpoche as a political advisor to the Tibetan government or any kind of special envoy?
Kalon Tripa: I have said during the campaign that I will consult him, seek his advice from time to time. For practical purposes it is very necessary because a new administration to coming and it has to review so many projects, policies and programmes, and while doing so, one has to be cognizance of what the previous Kalon Tripa and the Kashag have done. So without having full knowledge about the administration you simply cannot move ahead and make major changes. For that reason it is practical for me to consult and seek his advice as to what he did, how how did and why he did it. And based on that if I have to make necessary changes I will. Prof Samdhong Rinpoche has himself, when I met him today, told me “I have full support from him and his Kalons”. If I make any changes in any programmes in any departments they will give full support because change is necessary. So that is quite admirable because if I want to make certain changes. I am pragmatic by nature, so I will definitely consult him before I make any major changes. I have to make changes and now the changes wont be in protest or against him, it will be because he supports it. In that way we are together in moving forward and making necessary changes to make our administration more effective and our movement more stronger and sustainable.
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