Representative Tsering Yangkey Attends Cross-Party Group for Tibet in the Scottish Parliament

Scotland: Representative Tsering Yangkey, Office of Tibet, London, attended the Cross-Party Group for Tibet in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, 28 May, held in Committee Room 5 at Holyrood (Parliament of Scotland). Ross Greer MSP, the group’s Convenor, chaired the meeting, which was in hybrid form with some members of the group joining virtually and others present in the room. This was the first meeting since Ross Greer’s return to Scotland from his maiden visit to Dharamshala in early April, during which he had an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Speaking at the meeting, Representative Tsering Yangkey mentioned that it was an honour to join the meeting and thanked Ross Greer personally for his timely and important parliamentary questions, on the floor of the parliament, about His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday and the succession question, drawing an official response from the government minister. The Representative spoke about her upcoming visit to Tokyo to attend the World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet. Representative Tsering Yangkey mentioned the programmes confirmed for celebrating the 90th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London in early July and also spelt out some of the other activities to mark The Year of Compassion.

The hour-and-a-half session also featured key updates from Tibet, presented by Tibet Watch’s Senior Researcher, along with campaign briefings from the Group’s Secretary.

Earlier in the day, Ross Greer and the Representative, along with their teams, visited the National Museum of Scotland, where they were joined by the Group’s former Convenor and former MSP, Linda Fabiani, to observe the Tibetan artefacts there. The delegation was given a guided tour of the museum by Friederike Voight, Principal Curator of the West, South and Southeast Asian collections, who explained the significance of the Tibetan artefacts on display. This visit was in line with Ross’ commitment in Dharamshala to try establishing a working relationship between important Scottish organisations and the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, aimed at helping with the Tibetan library’s digitisation program.

Following the visit, Representative Yangkey offered a scarf of gratitude to Linda Fabiani for her stewardship of the Tibet group in the Scottish Parliament and presented her with the book, Voice for the Voiceless.

Representative had a lunch meeting in Edinburgh with Victor Spence, who had helped coordinate past visits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Edinburgh. She passed on heartfelt condolences through Victor to the family of Sir Tom Farmer, a great friend of Tibet, who sadly passed away on 10 May aged 84.

Representative then travelled to Kagyu Samyeling Monastery and Tibetan Buddhist Centre, which was preparing to host the 5th Kagyu Monlam, starting on 30 May.

Ross Greer MSP, along with Tibet Solidarity board members Cameron Garrett and Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren, visited Kagyu Samyeling on Friday, 30 May. Together they called on Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, Abbot of Kagyu Samyeling, and expressed their greetings. They were taken on a guided tour around the monastery complex.

Representative departs for London after completing a successful visit to Scotland. She will then leave for Tokyo on 1 June.

-Report filed by Office of Tibet, London