Washington DC: Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay today spoke at the University of Virginia School of Law as the law school’s human rights clinic’s spring term keynote speaker.
Professor Nelson Sanchez, the director of the UVA Human Rights Clinic, began the event by wishing everyone a Happy Losar and introduced Sikyong to the audience of students and community members.
The event was titled, “Human Rights & Tibet – Leading a Government in Exile”, and Dr Sangay spoke at length about the value of Freedom of Speech and the restricted access to Tibet for journalists and diplomats which impede independent, truthful reports of Tibetans in Tibet.
Dr Sangay also spoke about the self-immolations in Tibet, the cruel carceral practices that compound suffering for imprisoned Tibetans, and the Chinese government’s systemic goal of redefining the definition of human rights at the United Nations by prioritizing food over freedom, a method of justifying repression.
Sikyong also explained the cases of Tashi Wangchuk and Karma Samdrup, Tibetans who were unjustly sentenced to prison, even though they followed Chinese laws.
The day before Sikyong met with Jonathan Fritz, the deputy assistant secretary of the state department’s East Asia and Pacific affairs division, and Richard Albright, the deputy assistant secretary of the state department’s Population, Refugees, and Migration division.
The group discussed the current repression of Tibetan human rights, especially religious freedom, under the Chinese Communist Party’s regime. The two deputy secretaries promised to look into Sikyong’s concerns and to try and do more for the Tibetan people.
Sikyong also met members of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems that day.
After the meeting, Sikyong, Representative Ngodup Tsering, and some Office of Tibet-DC staffers travelled to Charlottesville, Virginia to meet with members of the Charlottesville Tibetans who greeted him graciously with music performed by Tibetan children and a homemade feast. Sikyong spoke about the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibet Policy and Support Act.
-Filed by Office of Tibet, Washington DC