His Holiness Presented With Prestigious Hesse Peace Prize in Germany

Dharamshala 29 June 2005– The German state of Hesse has conferred the prestigious Hesse Peace Prize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in recognition of his efforts to resolve the issue of Tibet by peaceful means.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama delivering a speech after he received the Hessian Peace Prize. (AP Photo/Ferdinand Ostrop)

Speaking at the ceremony yesterday at Kurhaus Wiesbaden, Minister-President Roland Koch spoke at length on His Holiness’ untiring effort to promote world peace and religious harmony. He said that the international community has a moral responsibility to support the Tibetans in their quest for a genuine autonomy, adding His Holiness’ approach to solve the Tibet problem through dialogue and non-violent means offers a litmus test for the moral strength of the international community.

Expressed his gratitude for the award and the words of praise lavished on him by all the speakers, including Norbert Kartmann, speaker of the Hessian Parliament, and Karl Starzacher, chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Peace Prize, His Holiness reiterated what he considers as his three main lifelong commitments: as a human being to serve humanity by advocating inner qualities, as a religious person to promote better understanding and harmony among various religious traditions and as a Tibetan and the Dalai Lama to serve the interest of the Tibetan people.

Earlier His Holiness was greeted in the Hessian Parliament with a standing ovation by the members of the parliament.

His Holiness also visited a packed Town Hall of the Hessian capital, where the acting Mayor, Dr Helmut-Georg Muller, presented him a special pen and suggested to him to use it to sign the accord which will one day grant a genuine autonomy for Tibet.