Australian Parliamentary Delegation Visits DharamsalaWednesday, 1 July 2009, 2:35 p.m.
Dharamshala: A 6-member Australian parliamentary delegation will be meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other senior officials of the Central Tibetan Administration during their six-day visit to Dharamsala, which begins 1 July.The delegates will pay visits to Tibetan educational, medical and cultural institutions,and speak to the members of Tibetan NGOs.The delegates are part of the All-Party Parliamentary group for Tibet at the Australian Parliament.The delegation will be headed Mr Michael Danby, member of the Australia Labor Party and convener of the Australian All-Party Group for Tibet. The other members are Peter Slipper, Liberal MP; Senator Nick Xenophon, Independent member of the Australian Senate; Melissa Parke, Labor MP; Senator Scott Ludlam, member of the Australian Greens and Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, member of the Australian Greens.”This is a significant step in Australia’s support for a peaceful resolution of the Tibetan situation,” Mr Michael Danby was quoted as saying by online newspaper The Australian.“We hope to return with a greater understanding of the Tibetan issue and with new ideas for providing constructive support for Tibet’s future,” Danby added.The group will be accompanied to Dharamsala by Ngodup Gyaltsen of the Canberra-based Tibet Information Office, and Simon Bradshaw of the Australia Tibet Council. The group will visit New Delhi to hold meetings with members of India’s newly elected parliament, including members of the foreign affairs committee.The delegation will leave Dharamsala on 6 July.
