A bill in solidarity with six million Tibetans
Staff Reporter
March 26, 2021
Lobsang Sangay Daiji World 25 March 2021
Mar 25 (IANS): The Tibetan Support and Policy Act of 2020 was passed by the US Congress, which is a landmark victory for the people of Tibet and their struggle. This bill acknowledges the struggle of people of Tibet against the brutal and oppressive Chinese occupation and is in solidarity with six million Tibetans who are suffering inside Tibet. Washington has always fought the non-democratic forces and stands firm hand in hand with the Tibetan brothers and sisters and their freedom struggle. Washington D.C. has always supported the justice of Tibetan people and will continue to pursue and support the cause. This is also the recognition of the legacy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his earnest efforts towards the justice for Tibetan brothers. This will be a major boost to the Tibetan freedom struggle, and is thus of historic importance.
It is not an easy task to fight the evil and rise up against the fascist and dictatorial regimes. The manifestation of fascism as a democratic country won’t be tolerated and has to be fought against. We Tibetans are fighting for our rightful cause and in this regard, we have knocked at the doors of conscience of every major global player. Getting the laws enacted is a gigantic task that too when it is against one of the most brutal powers of the world. We took to lobbying for enacting the bill as a law; all the Tibetan associations in the US, including the Tibetan Youth Congress, SFT and so on were involved in it. The House passed the bill with the overwhelming majority but only after a toiling effort from all. I made my effort toward the Senate and reached out to many Republican Senators, pursued to get the bill passed, however the success was yet far off and the period of hardship was not over. There was though a glimmer of hope in May. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s business meeting was called and Tibet was on the agenda; But then the business meeting was adjourned and nothing really happened from May onwards. I came to the US in October 2020 and the environment wasn’t feasible. The pandemic has struck at the heart of the US. It was just before the election former President Donald Trump was infected with coronavirus and some Congressmen and Senators were also infected. It was very chaotic and there was no chance.
It was in November 2020 I met the Democratic staff and Republican staff online and strategised on how we should go about the bill. I was told that in the second week of December, the business meeting will be called and Tibet will be on the agenda again. The bill had to pass on the Senate floor first before it could go to the House, which meant a lot of work was to be done and many things accomplished before the bill could be presented. The Senate version had amendments including the acknowledgment of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) as an institution that can reflect the official representative of the Tibetan diaspora all over the world and as the President of CTA. We wanted this major amendment, and as it goes every amendment has to be put to vote. we got the major breakthrough when the Tibet bill was taken out of all other major bills. This would mean a lot of focus on the agenda of Tibet. The Xinjiang bill didn’t get out from the Senate Foreign Relations committee. We managed to get the bill out of the staff members and the senators agreed to attach it to the Appropriation Bill. That is how it got passed. Thanks to his Holiness the Dalai Lama and all the monasteries who prayed for the Tibet cause. It wouldn’t be fair if we overlook the struggle and the hardship His Holiness the Dalai Lama went through.