His Holiness the Dalai Lama Congratulates the New European Parliament President

By Tsering Wangdue / January 25, 2022;

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has congratulated Ms Roberta Metsola on her being elected as President of the European Parliament. In his message he expressed his gratitude for the support given by the EU parliament for the Tibetan people, while acknowledging her appointment as the youngest ever president of the EU Parliament and its third female president. He said, “If I may say so, I believe that women are more empathetic than men in providing genuine concern for the well-being of others. Therefore, women can be better placed to lead the world to a more peaceful level.”

His Holiness also praised European Union as an inspiring example of a cooperative and peaceful co-existence of different nations and people. “In fact, it was with this spirit in 1988 that I formally proposed resolving the issue of Tibet through a mutually beneficial solution with the Chinese leadership. I had consciously chosen the European Parliament as a venue to present my thoughts then to underline the point that a genuine union can only come about voluntarily when there are satisfactory benefits to all the parties concerned” he added.

Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel
Photo: TPiE

Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, expressed his greetings to Ms Metsola and in his message thanked the European Union for its support for Tibetan people in the past, saying he hopes for its continues support under her leadership. He continued, “The situation inside Tibet remains grim and hence I am hopeful that under your leadership we will see robust support to end the oppression in Tibet under the atrocious rule of China.” He also thanked the respective countries in the EU for extending their support and help for the ever-expanding Tibetan diaspora community in Europe.

Ms Roberta Metsola won the election with absolute majority of 458 votes out of 690 cast in the remote secret vote on January 18 in the first voting round. She will lead the parliament in the second half of the current term until a new parliament in constituted in 2024.