His Holiness Meets Secretary of State Colin Powell and Congressional Leaders
Washington, DC, 9 September 2003:His Holiness the Dalai Lama paid a visit today to the State Department, where he met Secretary of State Colin Powell and briefed him on the status of his contact with Beijing, and the role the United States could play to facilitate dialogue.
Earlier, His Holiness visited the Capitol Hill to give a keynote address at an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. In his welcome speech, Congressman Frank Wolf referred to His Holiness as a head of state of the Tibetan people? Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, House democratic leader, said that Tibet was a challenge to the conscience of the world? Congressman Tom Lantos said he would send a letter from the Human Rights Caucus today to that effect.
In his turn, His Holiness thanked the caucus for providing him with the forum for the announcement of his Five Point Pace Plan in 1987. He expressed his deep sense of appreciation for the Congressional support to the cause of Tibet and their concerns for human rights everywhere in the world. His Holiness also made an appeal for continued Congressional support to Tibet.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s other engagements of the day included meetings with Steve Yates of the Office of Vice President, who brought a message from the Vice President. In addition, His Holiness met the staff of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, members of Senate Republic Conference, Senate Republic Policy Committee and Senate leadership, the last being hosted by Republican Senator Bill Frist and Democrat Tom Daschle.
The Indian Ambassador Mr. Lalit Mansingh hosted a luncheon reception at his residence in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Guests at the luncheon included Congresswoman Dana Rohrabacher, US Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom, members of US Commission on International Religious Freedom, Special Coordinator Paula Dobriansky and former Special Coordinator Greg Craig.
Ambassador Mansingh paid glowing tributes to the vision of His Holiness, who, in turn, dwelled on Tibet’s special cultural ties with India, and thanked the people of India for making Tibet a gift of Buddhist culture in the past, and now for coming to the succor of Tibetan people at this difficult juncture in Tibet’s history. Mr. Mansingh had earlier served as Indian Foreign Secretary.
In the morning, His Holiness met Columba Bush, wife of Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and her two friends.
Following this, he gave an audience to some 300 Tibetans from Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland. In his address, His Holiness said that it is just as important for the Tibetan people to regard their administration with affinity as it is for the administration to reflect the aspirations of the people. Having elected Professor Samdhong Rinpoche as the Tibetan political leader, people now have a responsibility to respect his leadership. Showing respect to the elected leadership helps to strengthen the base of democracy. Having experienced life in a country that is seen as example of democracy at work, the Tibetans in the United States, he said, have a duty to contribute towards the exile Tibetan administration’s experiment with democracy. He urged the people not to hesitate in voicing their feelings to the administration since the policy-makers have to reflect the will of people.
Referring to the non-violent nature of Tibetan struggle, His Holiness said that education was key to the effectiveness of such a struggle. But it is not merely to obtain degrees in modern education. What we need is people with professional skills.