His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Message to 7th Session of the 14th Tibetan ParliamentWednesday, 18 March 2009, 1:56 p.m.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama/file photo

My
best greetings and Tashi Deleg to the new Speaker and to all those
members of parliament who have made their presence in this 7th session
of the 14th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. I have not only
spoken many times about the current situation inside Tibet and our
position with regard to it, but have also explained in detail about
these in my recent statement during the 10 March anniversary. Trusting
that all of you are aware of these, I am not going to repeat here what
I have already mentioned earlier. In the recent weeks — in
keeping with the current critical situation inside Tibet and coinciding
with the anniversaries of the Tibetan people’s peaceful uprising and 50
years of our exile life — parliaments of many countries which include
the European and American parliaments have, taking great interest in
the issue of Tibet, passed substantive resolutions and clearly
demonstrated their solidarity with us Tibetans. Not only has this
gesture served as the source of inner strength for all the Tibetan
people inside and outside Tibet, but it has also helped the cause of
Tibet considerably.Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile is the most
important institution of Tibetan democracy in exile. It should,
therefore, do its best to establish contacts with the union and state
parliaments of the countries who cherish justice. And in order to raise
their understanding of the past and the present status of Tibet, as
well as the future aspirations of the Tibetan people, it is important
for the Tibetan parliament to work harder than ever before to
disseminate information in these countries and also initiate relevant
constructive programmes so as to obtain their effective support.Moreover,
in order to raise the level of Tibetan experiment with democracy and
for the effective undertaking of legislative works, the members of
parliament should — in addition to respecting the democratic principles
and rule of law — openly and broad-mindedly engage in extensive
discussions aimed at the betterment of the community as a whole by
properly following the dos and don’ts of the Buddhist concept of “four
kinds of reliance”.I pray for the smooth functioning of the
current session of the Tibetan parliament. May the wellbeing of all
sentient beings be assured! The Dalai Lama17 March 2009N.
B.    This is an unofficial translation of His Holiness the Dalai
Lama’s message to the 7th session of the 14th Tibetan
Parliament-in-Exile. If there is difference between this and the
Tibetan original, please treat the latter as authoritative and final.