To make you aware of a new, successful Tibetan political group, I would like to introduce briefly the Tibetan National Congress (TNC) and a very successful move they made. The TNC describes themselves on Facebook:
The TNC is a political freedom movement established as a democratic, non-sectarian, non-regional, pan Tibetan movement that seeks to pursue the ultimate goal of restoring a sovereign and independent Tibetan nation state.
South Africa rejected the entry of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to a Nobel peace prize winners’ summit; giving in to the pressure and bullying of China. The TNC has successfully relocated the Nobel Peace Summit to Rome.
The Tibetan Political Review states (Nov 20, 2014):
The 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates was scheduled to convene in Cape Town, South Africa in October 2014, but was later cancelled following several Nobel Peace laureates pulling out of the event after the South African government succumbed to pressure from China to deny a visa to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The Summit will be now moved to Rome from December 12 to 14, 2014. where it was first hosted and then seven times after; Rome where the Secretariat’s office is based. The Permanent Secretariat of Nobel Peace laureates summit is yet to make a formal announcement. But a formal invitation to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is an honorary citizen of Rome, has been accepted. Read more …
The New York Times’s Sinosphere Blog describes the pressure from China onto South Africa (October 6, 2014):
The Chinese government has been on something of a tear lately in its effort to compel governments to shun the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. In recent years, pressure from Beijing has convinced political leaders in countries like Norway and Britain to snub him, at least in venues associated with visiting dignitaries.
But a decision by South Africa to deny the Dalai Lama a visa to attend a gathering of former Nobel laureates in Cape Town appears to have backfired in a way that is drawing increased scrutiny to China’s heavy-handed tactics.
Last week, South Africa was forced to cancel the 14th World Peace Summit, which had been scheduled to start Oct. 13, after nine former peace prize winners and 11 affiliated organizations announced they would boycott the conference. The event was billed as the largest gathering of Nobel laureates and was to be dedicated to Nelson Mandela, the late South African leader who was also a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. South Africa would have been the first African country to host the event. Read more …
The TNC also made a petition in which they ask the authorities of Rome to ensure that any anti-Dalai Lama protesters in Rome be kept at a safe distance from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His Holiness the Dalai Lama will attend the relocated 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome on December 12-14, 2014. You can sign the petition here:
Tibetan Buddhism – Struggling With Diffi·Cult Issues 