Australian MPs visit Tibetan community in Dharamsala, express constructive support for TibetFriday, 3 July 2009, 6:06 p.m.

From Right: Liberal MP Peter Slipper, Senator Nick Xenophon, Penpa Tsering, Speaker of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Labor MP Michael Danby, Kalon Kelsang Y Takla, Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Labor Melissa Parke, address a press conference during their third day of visit to Dharamsala on Friday, 3 July 2009/TibetNet Photo

Dharamshala: The
visiting Australian parliamentary delegation to Dharamsala said Friday
(3 July) they will be returning to their country with a greatly
enriched understanding of the Tibetan issue and with many new ideas for
providing constructive support from Australia.The six-member
unofficial delegation met His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kalon Tripa
Prof Samdhong Rinpoche on Thursday, besides visits to Tibetan cultural,
educational and medical institutions. His Holiness the Dalai Lama thanked the all party group of MPs and senators for their support, ABC News reported.”Usually I describe our supporters not like pro-Tibetan, but rather pro-justice,” His Holiness said.Labor
MP Michael Danby says several members of the delegation are hoping to
travel to Tibet later in the year during an official visit to China.

“If the Parliament asks the Chinese
Government to allow this group to go, I don’t see why they shouldn’t
be,” Danby was quoted as saying by ABC News.

“They would be breaking their word and I’m sure the Chinese Government wouldn’t like to be seen to be doing that.”

The
delegation spoke to Tibetan and Indian media on their experience of
meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and about their getting first
hand information on the preservation and promotion of Tibetan cultural
heritage and democratic system of governance in exile.“We
support, strongly, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Middle-Way proposal
for a peacefully negotiated settlement of the Tibetan  situation and
regret that the Tibet-China dialogue has so far failed to bring genuine
progress towards a mutually acceptable resolution,” the delegation said.The
delegation said they will continue to encourage the Chinese government
of enter into sincere and substantive discussions with His Holiness the
Dalai Lama or his representatives over the eleven “subjects of
governance” outlined in the memorandum.“We look forward to
welcoming His Holiness back to Australia in December of this year, a
visit that will coincide with the twentieth anniversary of his Nobel
Peace Prize,” the delegation said.They offered their gratitude
and appreciation for getting the unique opportunity to visit Dharamsala
and expressed their best help in securing a better future for Tibet.The delegation will also attend the commemoration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 74th birthday on 6 July.The full text of the statement follows:Statement
by The Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet on the
Occasion of the First Australian Parliamentary Delegation to DharamsalaFriday, 3rd July 2009We,
the representatives of the Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for
Tibet, offer our sincere thanks to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai
Lama, Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche, Speaker Penpa Tsering, Deputy
Speaker Gyari Dolma, the Kashag (Tibetan Cabinet) and the Tibetan
Parliament for this opportunity to visit Dharamsala and learn first
hand about the challenges facing the Tibetan people today.We
further thank the people of Mcleod Gank for their warm hospitality, and
the many Tibetan non-governmental organisations with whom we have met
for providing us with a rich insight into Tibetan culture and the
situation of Tibetan refugees in India.May we first acknowledge
the extraordinary successes of the Tibetan people here in Dharamsala
and in many settlements throughout India and overseas in building a
vibrant and flourishing community in exile. We congratulate you on the
time and effort you have invested in education, health services,
community building and the preservation of your unique culture,
heritage and religion.Our delegation reflects all major parties
of the Australian Parliament and is testimony to the depth and breadth
of support in Australia for a peaceful resolution of the Tibetan
situation. We speak als on behalf of many Parliamentary colleagues and
friends in the Australian community who are unable to join us in person.Australia
is home to over six hundred Tibetans. This growing community has become
a cherished part of our multi-cultural landscape and we are very
grateful for the contribution that Tibetan people and their culture
have made to Australian society.We support, strongly, His
Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Middle-Way proposal for a peacefully
negotiated settlement of the Tibetan  situation and regret that the
Tibet-China dialogue has so far failed to bring genuine progress
towards a mutually acceptable resolution.In this, the fiftieth
year since the Tibetan uprising of 1959 and the Dalai Lama’s exile, we
express our deepest concern and sympathy over the enduring situation
inside Tibet, in particular the deteriorating conditions of the last
year. Religious repression, “patriotic education” and undemocratic
social-economic reforms, including the forced settlement of nomads,
have fanned the flames of unrest in Tibet and brought untold suffering
to the Tibetan people.We express our disappointment at the
Chinese Government’s outright rejection last November of the
“Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People” – a detailed
proposal for meeting the needs of the Tibetan people within existing
provisions in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. We
support the memorandum as a basis for constructive negotiations on
Tibet’s future and will continue to encourage the Chinese Government to
enter into sincere and substantive discussions with the Dalai Lama or
his representatives over the eleven “subjects of governance” outlined
in this important document.It has been an honour to meet with
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Samdhong Rinpoche and several
members of the Central Tibetan Administration here in the heart of the
Tibetan exile community. We commend His Holiness, with whom we had the
privilege of conversing at some length, for  his pragmatic and
conciliatory approach to the Tibetan situation and for his calm
determination.We look forward to welcoming His Holiness back to
Australia in December of this year, a visit that will coincide with the
twentieth anniversary of his Nobel Peace Prize. The visit, which has
been given the theme “Our Future: Who is Responsible?”, comes at a time
when Australia and the world at large are facing sime their greatest
challenges and opportunities. We look forward to hearing more His
Holiness’s thoughts on universal responsibility, peace, justice and the
global environment.We have been very well looked after here in
Dharamsala and are enjoying our visit to India immensely. We will be
returning to Australia with a greatly enriched understanding of the
Tibetan situation and with new ideas for providing constructive support
from Australia.Once again, we offer our thanks and appreciation
for this unique opportunity and will be doing our best to help secure a
better future for Tibet.Tashi Delek