DHARAMSHALA: The leaders of the Indian state of Meghalaya reassured an exile Tibetan Parliamentary delegation of their support to resolve the issue of Tibet.

The three-member delegation led by former speaker and member of TPIE, Pema Jungney, include Yangchen Dolkar and Dhardon Sharling, were in Meghalaya for the five-day final leg of North-East zone ‘All India Parliamentary Lobby Campaign from 23-28 May.’

The delegation apprised the state’s top leadership, including governor and deputy chief minister, about the current situation inside Tibet.

Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary told the delegation that ‘Tibetans must never lose hope.’ “Hope is what will keep you all going and victory will be an eventuality.” He praised the tenacity, arduousness and the resolve of the exile Tibetans and called them ‘true crusaders of the movement.’

Officiating Chief Minister Rowell Lingdo welcomed the delegation and apologised for the Chief Minister’s absence in the capital.  Deputy Chief Minister Lingdo condemned the ‘atrocious policies of the Chinese government’ and said that ‘China must realize, respect and respond to the true aspirations of the Tibetan people and the Tibetan leadership’s call for dialogue to resolve the crisis.’

The delegation also met with the deputy speaker of the state assembly, Sanbor Shullai. Besides reiterating his support for the Tibetan cause and the Deputy Speaker asserted that ‘the Indian Government should treat the Tibetan issue as a special issue and raise it during the diplomatic engagements with the Chinese leaders.’ “ A genuine resolution to Tibet’s political crisis will also serve India’s interests,’ said Mr Shullai, who is also the state president of National Congress Party (NCP).

The delegation also held meetings with the leaders of prominent political parties in the State and appealed for a cross-party support for the Tibetan political movement. The leaders pledged support for an ‘All-Party Parliamentary Resolution on the Tibet crisis.’

The remaining 57 members of legislative assembly with whom the delegation couldn’t engage in a direct face-to-face meeting were apprised of the campaign and its goals through a memorandum sent via priority mail.

While deeming the steadfast support of the Indian Government and its people towards the Tibetan people as significant, the TPIE delegation appealed the Indian leaders for substantial and public expressions of solidarity and support amid the unprecedented spate of self-immolations by Tibetans inside Tibet and the subsequent deepening crackdown by Chinese Government. The delegation also called on the Indian leadership to engage in urgent diplomatic actions that assert multilateral pressure on the Chinese Government to resolve the long-standing issue of Tibet.

The Tibetan Parliamentary delegation successfully carried out a series of lobbying campaigns in eight states: West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.