Sec. 6. Democracy in the Tibetan exile community
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Congress finds the following: The 14th Dalai Lama has overseen a process of democratization within the Tibetan policy, beginning in Tibet in the 1950s and continuing in exile from the 1960s to the present. The first representative body in Tibetan history, formed on September 2, 1960, was the precursor of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, the legislative branch within the Central Tibetan Administration. The first direct election for the chief executive of the Central Tibetan Administration was held on July 29, 2001, with the election of Professor Samdhong Rinpoche.
On March 10, 2011, the 14th Dalai Lama announced that he would relinquish his political responsibilities and on August 8, 2011, he transferred full political power to the elected leadership of the Central Tibetan Administration. On March 20, 2011, members of the Tibetan exile community across some 30 countries held elections, monitored by international observers and assessed to be free and fair, to select the next parliament and chief executive. As a result of the codification of the transfer of political power from the Dalai Lama, the Kalon Tripa, or Chief of the Cabinet, assumed full executive authority and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile assumed full legislative authority within the Central Tibetan Administration.
As a result of the 2011 elections, the 15th Tibetan Parliament was seated and Lobsang Sangay was chosen as Kalon Tripa, a title changed to Sikyong in 2012. Approximately 6,000,000 Tibetans in Tibet do not enjoy a democratic form of government or the ability to elect their political representatives. Section 355 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 (Public law 102–138; 105 Stat 713), expressed the sense of Congress that Tibet’s true representatives are the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile as recognized by the Tibetan people and that Tibet has maintained throughout its history a distinctive and sovereign national, cultural, and religious identity separate from that of China and, except during periods of illegal Chinese occupation, has maintained a separate and sovereign political and territorial identity.
The Middle Way Approach, the official policy of the Central Tibetan Administration, seeks genuine autonomy for the 6,000,000 Tibetans in Tibet. It is the sense of Congress that— Tibetan exile communities around the world should be commended for the successful adoption of a system of self-governance with democratic institutions and free elections to choose their leaders; the Dalai Lama should be commended for his decision to transfer political authority to elected leaders in accordance with democratic principles; the Central Tibetan Administration legitimately represents and reflects the aspirations of Tibetan people around the world, and the Sikyong is the President of the Central Tibetan Administration; as consistent with section 621(d)(3) of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 ( 22 U.S.C. 6901 note), the United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues should continue to maintain close contact with the religious, cultural, and elected leaders of the Tibetan people; and the adoption of democracy within the Tibetan exile community can serve as an example to other exiled, subnational, or nonsovereign communities around the world.
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U.S. Code
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- Pub. L. 102-138
- 105 Stat. 713
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