Norway Acknowledges His Holiness’ Contribution to Tibet, World Peace
Norwegian Parliament President Jorgen Kosmo welcoming His Holiness the Dalai Lama(Scanpix-foto: Bjørn Sigurdsøn) |
Oslo 14 June 2005: His Holiness the Dalai Lama was received here this morning at the parliament by the President of the Norwegian Parliament, Mr. Jorgen Kosmo, who expressed his appreciation for the work that the Tibetan leader has been doing not only for Tibet but also for peace in the world.
Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the parliament that separately met with His Holiness also expressed their appreciation for the positive human values that he has been promoting.
Responding to the warmth with which His Holiness was received, despite pressure from the Chinese Embassy in Oslo as reported in a section of the press, the Tibetan Nobel Peace Laureate thanked the democratically-elected leaders of the Norwegian people, the government and the general public for all their sympathy and support, which he said was inspiring.
His Holiness arrived by plane at the Norwegian capital this morning after a very successful visit to neighbouring Sweden, where his two public engagements at Gothenburg involving an interfaith dialogue with Archbishop K.G. Hammar and discussion with scientists on cognitive psychotherapy drew thousands of people and massive media coverage.
This is His Holiness’ ninth visit to Norway and the current visit is at the invitation of the Norwegian Tibet Committee and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet.
“As soon as His Holiness arrived everything went smoothly,” said Chungdak Koren, who along with Mr. Olav Gunner Ballo, Chairman of the Norwegian All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, and Ms. Tsomo Gyachungtsang, Chairwoman of the Norwegian Tibet Committee, was at the airport to receive His Holiness.
“I am pleased to say that despite the protestation from the Chinese Embassy, all the meetings at the parliament went as scheduled,” she said, adding that one of the MPs had even told her that as a democratic country that value human freedoms and liberty, Norway and its elected leaders will never hesitate to welcome whoever they like.
“In fact it was very encouraging to see how His Holiness was most warmly welcomed by the Parliament President, MPs and Foreign Affairs Committee members of the Parliament,” Chungdak Koren said.
Mrs. Kesang Y. Takla, who is the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Northern Europe, said that the atmosphere at all the meetings was very warm and friendly. She said everyone seemed genuinely concerned about the current situation in Tibet, particularly with respect to the dangers posed to the survival of the Tibetan culture and way of life as a direct result of the massive influx of Chinese immigrants to Tibet.
“All the meetings went well. It was heartening to hear the President of the Parliament and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee praise His Holiness for all the work that he has done not only for Tibet but also for peace and betterment of the world,” Mrs. Takla said.
She also said it was moving to see people follow His Holiness wherever he went and how His Holiness responded to the public welcome with equal enthusiasm.
“People were lining up all the time to greet His Holiness and to seek his blessings. Some people even informed His Holiness how much they feel inspired by his message of non-violence and universal responsibility,” said Mrs. Takla.
Addressing more than 60 members of the parliament, the Tibetan Nobel Laureate shared with them his three main commitments in life:
1. Promotion of good human values, which as a fellow human being he said he wishes to pursue for the rest of his life.
2. Promotion of religions harmony, which as a religious person he said he also wishes to pursue for the rest of his life.
3. Working for the just Tibetan cause, for which he said he has the moral responsibility because of the Tibetan people’s faith and trust in him and which he said he would pursue until the day of return to Tibet with a certain degree of genuine freedom.
After this brief presentation, His Holiness invited questions from the MPs. When a member of parliament asked how they can help Tibet, His Holiness simply said that whenever there is the opportunity it would be useful if they could explain to the Chinese authorities about his Middle Way Approach that he has sincerely adopted since the last many years keeping into consideration the best interest of both the Tibetan and the Chinese peoples.
The problem, His Holiness said, was that the Chinese officials always appear to be suspicious despite the fact that a growing number of Chinese scholars and intellectuals think that this is a peaceful and a realistic approach.
Report courtesy of the Office of Tibet, London