London: Representative Sonam Frasi of the Office of Tibet, London visited Helsinki and Warsaw from 23 – 28 January 2023 to mobilise governmental and civil society support in these two countries for the Tibetan freedom movement. He reinforced the two main messages of CTA -Tibet has never been a part of China and PRC Government has no right to interfere in the process of finding the next reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Current Tibetan concerns related to colonial boarding schools, unauthorised DNA collection, incentivised inter-racial marriage and settlement of Han Chinese people, and environmental destruction in Tibet were highlighted during his engagements. When discussions with Finnish Foreign Ministry officials touched on the possibility of the Finnish Government making a public statement on the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Representative Frasi recommended adopting language aligned with the US Government’s Tibetan Policy and Support Act 2020.
In Finland, Representative Sonam Frasi met with five officials of Finnish Foreign Ministry; Member of Parliament Ms Eva Biaudet; and Tibet supporters. In Warsaw, he participated inthe meeting of Polish Parliament’s Tibet Friendship Group chaired by MP Monika Wielichowska and met with the Deputy Speaker MP Małgorzata Kidawa-Blonska.
He was then escorted to the visitors’ gallery of the Polish Parliament where the Speaker of the Parliament acknowledged his presence prompting much applause in the House. It was the first time that a Tibetan Representative’s visit to the Polish Parliament was acknowledged by the Speaker during a parliamentary session. He also had a meeting with the Tibetan Community in Poland and visited the Tibetan Medical Centre, Karma Dechen Choeling Buddhist Centre and Helsinki Human Rights Foundation in Warsaw.
Tibetan Community in Poland, Adam Koziel, Erja Sini-Kaarina Varis and MP Monika Wielichowska provided immense local support in making this visit a success.
Following a successful in-person engagement in Finland and Poland, which happened after a long hiatus due to Covid-19, Office of Tibet London, now looks forward to welcoming Honourable Sikyong, His Excellency Penpa Tsering, this coming Monday on his first visit as Sikyong to the United Kingdom where he is scheduled to speak on Tibet at the University of Oxford.
-Reported by OOT, London