Security Kalon Dolma Gyari addressing the gathering.

Dharamshala: Kalon (Minister) Dolma Gyari of the Department of Security, Central Tibetan Administration, formally attended a memorial gathering in Colorado titled “Dumra/The Secret Garden–Commemorating the CIA-Tibet Program at Camp Hale” on 9 June 2024.

The event was also graced by the presence of Tibetan Parliamentarians Tenzing Jigme, Geshe Lharampa Atuk Tseten, Khenpo Kada Ngedup Sonam, and Serta Tsultrum, along with Kasur Sonam Topgyal Khorlotsang, president of the Dhokham Chushi Gangdruk organisation; Kasur Pema Chhinjor; a 92-year-old CIA trainer, Bruce Walker; and Tsering Dorje, who served as the Tibetan interpreter during the training back then.

Between 1959 and 1964, the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) set up a secret base in the Colorado Rockies to train around 300 Tibetans soldiers to fight for their freedom. After several decades, the precise location of the training ground in Camp Hale was still unknown until anthropologist Carole McGranahan rediscovered the site.

-Report filed by Department of Security, CTA