The four-day second special general metting, held in accordance with the provisions of Article 59 of the Charter of the Tibetans in exile is being attended by 432 delegates from 25 countries from around the world.
Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Penpa Tsering, in his inaugural address said the main reason for holding the Special Meeting is to discuss in "how and what ways we, the Tibetan people living in exile, should respond to the tragic situation in Tibet today.”
In remembrance of the Tibetan self-immolators, 51 Tibetan national flags have been raised at the school auditorium of Upper Tibetan Children’s Village School, the venue of the meeting.
Speaker Tsering also urged the delegates to limit their discussions to the given agendas and not to waste time on historical narrations and other matters.
Head of the Tibetan administration Lobsang Sangay in his address said the “sense of stability” amongst the Tibetan public, a year after the Dalai Lama devolved all his political authority to the elected Tibetan leadership, sends a strong message to China’s leaders that the Tibetan people have responsibly taken on the leadership role.
Dr Sangay reiterated his stance of being prepared to hold talks with the Chinese government “anytime, anywhere” and said that the exile Tibetan administration was in the process of appointing Special Envoys for the talks.
He called for 2013 to be marked as a ‘campaign year’ for Tibet and reminded Tibetans of their past achievement in successfully paving the way for the return of the 13th Dalai Lama from exile in India a century ago.
