DHARAMSHALA: The budget session for the financial year 2015-2016 of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile began today. This is the 9th session of the 15th Tibetan Parliament.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Penpa Tsering, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, spoke about the critical situation prevailing inside Tibet and the wave of self-immolation protests that has swept Tibet since 2009.
“The situation inside Tibet continues to remain grim. Five Tibetans set themselves on fire in protest since the last session of the Tibetan parliament in September 2014, resulting in a total of 136 self-immolations since 2009,” Speaker Penpa Tsering said, adding “the Tibetan Parliament will duly deliberate on the situation inside Tibet to mitigate the sufferings of the Tibetan people inside Tibet.”
The Speaker also apprised the House about the proceedings of the session including deliberations on amendments in the Tibetan charter, amendments in the rules and regulation, and regarding the official recognition of Jonang as a distinct school within Tibetan Buddhism.
The first day of the parliament session proposed resolutions expressing solidarity with the Tibetan self-immolators and expressed condolences to the numerous Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet.
The parliament reaffirmed the Middle Way Approach as the only viable solution to resolve the issue of Tibet through dialogue with the Chinese side.
It also urged China to allow an unbiased fact-finding delegation comprising of diplomats, media and representatives of human rights organisations to visit Tibet.
The Tibetan parliament expressed their gratitude to the parliaments and leaders of the International community for their support, and appealed them to continue their support for the just cause of Tibet.
It emphasised the parliament’s resolve to fulfill the aspirations of the Tibetan people and take earnest and effective responsibility towards the successful return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
The Tibetan Parliament also condoled the demise of Shri. Kul Bhushan Bakshi and Shri. Narayan Desai, two long-time supporters of Tibet who passed away recently.
This session of the parliament will discuss and approve the budget of the Central Tibetan Administration for the year 2015-16. The session will go on till 28 March.
