Himachal Pradesh Legislature Forum For Tibet Formed

Monday, 28 August 2006, 11:00 AM

From right: State chief minister, former chief minister and speaker of the House, while supporting the constitution of the Forum

Dharamshala: Himachal Pradesh (HP) Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, announced the constitution of HP Legislature Forum for Tibet after obtaining consensus of all the members of the Legislature Assembly and Opposition in the State Vidhan Sabha while presiding over the first meeting of the forum.

The meeting was called by Kaul Singh Thakur, Parliamentary Affair Minister, and attended by the Vidhan Sabha Speaker G.R. Musafir, former chief minister of the state and Bharatya Janta Party (BJP) leader P.K. Dhumal, Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the ruling and opposition parties.

All of them unanimously authorized Mr. Musafir to nominate office bearers of the forum and its members from amongst the MLA’s.

Tibetan delegation offering Khatak to the newly elected members of the Forum

The Chief Minister said that the state was making all-out efforts to maintain cordial relations with China and help Tibet to achieve their objective with democratic approach and non-violent methods.

The fact that the Tibetans have been able to uphold their rich traditions of peace and non-violence under the spiritual leadership of the Noble laureate His Holiness the Dalai Lama, even in exile is commendable, he further said.

Mr. P.K. Dhumal said Tibet had been an old friend of the country and shared very cordial relations with us. He advocated the constitution of the Legislature Forum for extending moral support to the Tibetans cause. Parliamentary Affair Minister K.S. Thakur at the beginning of the meeting apprised the members of the historical background of the Forum and emphasised the need for more cordial relations between the state government and the Central Tibetan Administration.

At Tea reception hosted by the Himachal Vidhan Sabha

He moved the resolution to authorize the Vidhan Sabha Speaker to constitute the Legislature Forum for Tibet. Former Minister and present MLA, Vijai Singh Mankotia, also presented his view in regards to the Tibetan issue, and supported the forum for Tibet.

Mrs. Gyari Dolma, Vice-Chairperson of the Assembly of the Tibetan People’s Deputies, offered Khatak (traditional scarf) to the members of the newly formed Forum on behalf of the Tibetan Assembly.

A Tea Reception was hosted by the Vidhan Sabha in honour of the visiting Tibetan Parliamentary delegation consisting of Mrs. Dolma Gyari and Mrs. Ngawang Lhamo. The Tibetan delegates have been camping in the State Capital since 21st of this month. The local Tibetan Welfare Officer Mr. Ngawang Yonten in Shimla accompanied the delegation.

Participants of the meeting

After the constitution of Legislature Forum for Tibet in the Himachal Vidhan Sabha, the Tibetan delegation made a courtesy call on Shri. Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje, His Excellency the Governor of Himachal Pradesh and briefed him about the newly constituted Forum for Tibet and also discussed various issues concerning Tibetans. In the meantime the chairman of the Tibetan Assembly Mr. Karma Choephel accompanied by two other Assembly members Mr. Sonam Damdul and Venerable Thupten Phelgey also arrived in Shimla and they are schedule to join today’s luncheon reception hosted by the Tibetan Assembly in the honor of members of the newly formed Himachal Pradesh Legislature Forum for Tibet. The Governor of Himachal Pradesh has also been invited to the reception.

(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.)