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© 2011 International Campaign for Tibet
I’m proud to report that Tibet Lobby Day 2009 was a smashing success.
Tibetans from around the country came to Washington, marking their arrival as “Tibetan-Americans” with a growing constituent voice. By commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s exile in D.C., they demonstrate their recognition of the essential role that the U.S. Congress has played in sustaining Tibetan communities and keeping Tibet on the diplomatic agenda.
Some 150 Tibetan-Americans and Tibet supporters from 25 states fanned out over Capitol Hill, visiting 96 offices with a message of gratitude and an appeal for continued support. They reminded their representatives, many relatively new, that the U.S. Congress was the first governmental entity in the world to host the Dalai Lama (1987), and to institutionalize Tibet through programmatic funding and policies designed to keep the focus on the Tibet issue.
They also lobbied for specific measures, such as the Tibet immigration bill (H.R. 1340), Tibet appropriations, establishment of a U.S. consulate in Lhasa, and a resolution (H.Res. 226) commemorating the 50th anniversary, which will be debated by the House on March 11.
Lobby Day participants also joined a reception hosted by International Campaign for Tibet Chairman, Richard Gere, on Capitol Hill to commemorate the 50th anniversary and to thank the U.S. government for decades of support for Tibetans. Lobsang Nyandak, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Americas, presented Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a khata as an expression of this gratitude, not only for her role in representing the U.S. government, but also for her personal and unmatched advocacy for Tibet. In her remarks, Speaker Pelosi said:
“The U.S. Congress continues to be a bedrock of support for the Tibetan people. Last year, I was proud to stand with President Bush to award the Congressional Gold Medal to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his ‘many enduring and outstanding contributions to peace, non-violence, human rights, and religious understanding.’ On the 50th Anniversary of the Dalai Lama being forced into exile, we must heed his guidance and his transcendent message of peace. And we must never forget the people of Tibet in their ongoing struggle.”
The reception also honored Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Nita Lowey for their invaluable efforts on behalf of Tibet. Other Members attending included Reps. Jim McGovern, Frank Wolf, Tim Walz and Patrick Kennedy.
ICT, Tibetan Associations of the United States, and U.S.-based Tibet support groups worked together in the planning and execution, which included marches organized by Students for a Free Tibet, the Tibetan Youth Congress and the Capitol Area Tibetan Association from the White House to the Chinese Embassy on both the 9th and 10th.
All in all, it was an inspiring two days, to see Tibetan-Americans and Tibet supporters, young and old, from every corner of the country, in the nation’s capital to exercise freely their democratic voices on behalf of their brothers and sisters in Tibet who cannot.
Photo Caption: Actor Richard Gere, left, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., talk at the International Campaign for Tibet reception on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Monday, March 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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[...] timid. As an ICT intern, I should have been first to say yes. In March 2009, ICT organized a Tibet Lobby Day in Washington. Tibetan-Americans, some from as far as California, voiced their concerns to their [...]
Thank you to all the functionaries and the members of ICT community for the commendable job you have been doing for Tibet. I also offered my grand salute to all the politicians and officials of capitol hill for standing behind our cause. I pray that ICT will keep up this commendable tradition of realizing the Tibetan cause in future and God bless you.
I am curious why the Chinese government is still trying to distort and lie about what is true regarding the history of their occupation of Tibet and current atrocities they commit against the Tibetan people “on Chinese soil”. Are they afraid if they admit their mistakes they will be viewed as weak? It is WEAK to continue to try to rewrite history for your own gain, lie, malign & exploit a people and claim you are “liberators”, imprison innocents for their religious beliefs, commit cultural genocide, and demonize a man who is an international symbol for peace, compassion and wisdom.
Sounds like a simple case of “projection” and that everything the Chinese Communists claim about TIbetans and HHDL is 100% more true of themselves. Are they jealous of the Tibetans and instead of emulating them the Chinese Communists just want to wipe them out so as to not be reminded of their own shortcomings as human beings?
I truly appreciate you taking the time to share this . Look forward to more posts from you
Thank you ICT for the tremendous job you did organizing this event. A founding member of our activist group is the only Tibetan exile in Nashville, and it was inspirational for him to be with so many of his people again. It awakened us to the need and power to not only use art and education to raise awareness about Tibet in our community, but to follow up with specific legislative requests to the people with the ability to change laws and policies.
Living in a country in which we are free to make our voice heard without fear of imprisonment or torture, it is our responsibility to speak for those who cannot. “The Free must speak for the Unfree, and the Silenced.” — Ngawang Losel, One Human Race 4 Justice
ICT,
It seems that now is the time for Tibetans and friends of Tibet to not let down the pressure to work towards the solution that the Dalai Lama is asking for. He is asking for “meaningful autonomy” for Tibetans, which is already a guarantee in the Chinese Constitution towards all minority communities. For some strange reason this does not apply to Tibet. If the Chinese have some other “agenda” regarding these people, then they are misleading the whole world. No matter how they, the Chinese, look at it, the Tibetans have the moral imperative.
Karen M. Krueger
I on behalf of my parents in Tibet would like to thank core from my heart to USA government and people for supporting tirelessly. Thank you ICT Board & members for sending all the news letter. Its very informatic since i resides in India.
Free Tibet.
We will never give up hope for freedom in Tibet
Truth is with us
As someone who participated in Lobby Day, I want to say that the feeling of empowerment was palpable among the Tibetans and Tibet supporters. There was a feeling of strength not only in seeing everyone together, but in getting such positive feedback and encouragement from a body as important as the US Congress.