Lawmakers from several countries congratulate new president of Tibetan govt-in exile

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 29 : Parliamentarian and the members of Tibet Support Group from several countries congratulated Penpa Tsering, the newly elected president of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
According to Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), parliamentarians and members of Tibet Support Group in Switzerland, Canada, the UK, Baltic States, Chile, Germany and Norway, and friends of Tibet around the world wrote to the newly elected leadership, expressing their warm wishes and renewed support to the CTA and the Tibetan cause.
Tsering, the former speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, has been elected as the president of the Tibetan government, officially called the CTA.
The Chinese government occupied Tibet in 1950 and has ever since tried to control the region.
The Dalai Lama, who is currently 85-year-old, had earlier announced that upon turning 90 he will decide whether he should be reincarnated.
In recent years, China has intensified its efforts to eradicate the Dalai Lama from the religious lives of Tibetans to crush their identity. During a meeting, Mao Zedong had told the 14th Dalai Lama, that "religion is poison".
Luciano Nobili, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Group Italy-Tibet wrote, "The democratic organization that the Tibetans, under the leadership of the Dalai Lama, wanted to establish in exile is one of the main reasons for our support."
"A society, yours, which, despite the immense difficulty of a new life in another country, first of all wanted to think about the preservation of the most representative elements of its own culture, of its own ethical and spiritual values, of its own language, in a context of democratic management of public affairs," Nobili added.
MP Uldis Budrikis, Chairman of the Group for the Support of Tibet in the Parliament of Latvia Auche, MP Andrius Navickas, Chairman of the Provisional Group for Solidarity with Tibetans in the Lithuanian Parliament, MP Yoko Alender, Chairman of the Tibet Support Group in the Parliament of Estonia extended warm regards to Penpa Tsering while expressing their solidarity to the non-violent struggle of Tibetans against Chinese occupation.
"We are sure that you will succeed to bring to your people the independence they aspire for. We, the Baltic States, will stand by you and you can always count on our support. We renew our hearty congratulations on your election and look forward to our cooperation for the well-being of the Tibetan people," they wrote.
Members of the Tibet Interest Group in the EU Parliament applauded the successful completion of the democratic election in Tibetan exile while congratulating the new Tsering and members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile.
"We would like to use this opportunity to invite you to Brussels - as soon as the situation allows it - in order to exchange with us about the situation in Tibet and ways in which the European Parliament could contribute to improving the human rights situation of the Tibetan people.
"We look forward to working with you to support a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Tibet through a direct negotiation process between the CTA and the Chinese government in line with the Middle Way Approach," they wrote.
Adding to the list of congratulatory letters to Tsering, Ferenc Gelencser, Deputy Mayor of Budavar (First District) of Budapest, Hungary offered its best wishes and conveyed the significance of Tibet cause to them.
"I would also like to praise the compassion and commitment of the people of Tibet who strive for a once again free and independent state for a nation to be self-determined," Gelencser wrote.
"As a Hungarian national whose country has been under foreign rule for centuries, I do understand your people's struggle. The challenges of our time reminds us all why democracy is a necessity of which we cannot give up on," Gelencser added.
Similarly, on behalf of the members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet (APPGT) in the UK parliament, MP Tim Loughton Chairman of APPGT expressed their wishes to building on the continuing friendships shared and supporting Tibet cause and meanwhile putting an end to the atrocities in Tibet. (ANi)