Speech of Thomas Mann, President TIG
Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle, 13th July 2015
His Holiness has stepped down from being the political leader, but remains the religious leader of the Tibetans. He inspires people around the world including the European Union and raises awareness for the Tibetan case. He has a unique aura, charisma and tremendous influence.
Since 15 years I have the privilege to be the leader of European Parliamentarians who support the middle way approach of His Holiness. Last year we celebrated his birthday in the Albert Hall here in Brussels. I am happy to say that we continue our work as cross-party-Tibet Interest Group in the current term.
In May over 50 MEPs from six political groups co-signed a letter adressing the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Mrs Mogherini, to raise the Tibetan issue during her talks with the Chinese government! I would like to thank all our TIG vice presidents for their support: Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg (S&D), Nathalie Griesbeck (ALDE), Molly Scott Cato (Greens) and Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR).
Last year in February we celebrated our one hundreds TIG Meeting with 300 participants from all over the world!
Our political approach is to inform about Tibet: its people, its culture, its language, its religion, its identity.
- We continuously express our concerns about the human rights violations.
- We fight against torture, suppression and illegal imprisonment. Symbols for the desperate situation are self-immolations of monks and nuns.
- We support a document of utmost relevance: The Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People.
- We will not stop to demand the nomination of a Special Representative on Tibetan affairs as member of the European External Action Service.
You will find further information on our new TIG homepage (www.tibetinterestgroup.eu), presenting the EP-resolutions concerning Tibet and updates of our events.
We organised the visits of His Holiness in the European Parliament in 1988, 1996 and 2001 in Strasbourg as well as 2008 in Brussels. We would like to welcome him again in the next years.
Our promise to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, for his 80th birthday is: We will never be silent!
Tashi Delek
Bilder von: www.dalailama.com