By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, May 14: The Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet (AAPGT) held an event called “Tibet Brief” at the parliament building on May 11, 2023. The meeting was facilitated by the Australia Tibet Council in coordination with Tibet Information Office and ACT Tibetan Community.
The Australian All-Party Group for Tibet is a bipartisan group whose purpose is to amplify Tibet’s voice in the Australian parliament through events such as Tibet Advocacy Day. The event was organised to bring together new parliamentary friends, to learn about Tibet and its current situation from Tibet Information Office, Australia Tibet Council, and ACT Tibetan Community members.
Karma Singey, the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, briefly spoke about the worsening situation inside Tibet and expressed his gratitude to all parliamentary friends for their concerns and consistent support for the cause of Tibet. He also informed them about the upcoming visit of Sikyong Penpa Tsering to Australia in June.
Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives Hon. Sharon Claydon, Susan Templeman MP, Senator Janet Rice, and Dr. Sophie Scamps MP, who recently visited Dharamshala in April 2023, shared their experiences of meeting with the exiled Tibetan leadership and their deeper understanding of the Tibetan issue and insight into the lives of Tibetan refugees in exile.
During their visit to Dharamshala MP Susan Templeman said at a press conference, “Australia has recognized that there are real challenges for Tibetans in Tibet and there are threats to culture, education, language and your Tibetan way of life”. She acknowledged their goal of the visit is “to get a deeper insight into those issues” and “to see what we can do as an Australian friend to be able to assist”.
The meeting was attended by around 20 parliamentarians and their staffers, including McCormack MP, former Deputy Prime Minister, and Hon Shayne Neumann MP, Chair of Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.
One Response
Great to see my local Australian MP (Susan Templeman) visiting Dharamsala and the support of other Australian Parliamentarians for this longstanding and tragic human rights issue. Awareness of Tibet’s continuing persecution by Chinese authorities is important to keep in the Australian and global public eye. The upcoming Universal Periodic Review of China by the UN in 2024 will be another important opportunity to bring China’s contempt for human rights to world attention.