Dear Tibetan friends, dear colleagues,
Thank you for your invitation and I apologize for not being able to join you in Tokyo at the 9th World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet due to several institutional engagements in the Senate.
As we know, Tibetans have been living in exile in India following the forcible occupation of Tibet by the PRC. For 65 years, under the guidance and leadership of H. H. the Dalai Lama, Tibetans miraculously managed to preserve their culture, language and religion and they have championed human rights and freedom through non-violence.
I wish to thank the vibrant Tibetan community in Italy for their activism and constant attention to the conditions in Tibet, also with regard to other minorities affected by China’s repressive policies.
I wish to thank the Association Italia-Tibet, chaired by Claudio Cardelli, and its members who are extremely active in promoting the Tibetan traditions and human rights culture.
Together with our Tibetan friends in Rome we recently paid tribute to a long-standing supporter of Tibet, the late Marco Pannella, Member of the European Parliament and long time friend of His Holiness.
Italy has three main Buddhist centers: the “Small Tibet” in the Emilia region which is also home to the Museum of Tibet, the Ghepeling Institute in Milan and the Lama Tzong Kapa Institute in Tuscany. Overall, there are over 40 Buddhist centers in Italy scattered all cross the country.
Each center provides a place of meditaion, spirituality and freedom where everyone is welcome and has the opportunity to learn the Tibetan history and meet the tradition.
As His Holiness is about to turn 90 years old, his exemplary teachings and extraordinary dedication for Tibetan culture, human rights and freedom are a reflection of the courage of the Tibetan people and of their supporters. This is why it is crucial that the Dalai Lama’s steadfastness and determination be passed on to future generations of Tibetans.
In this respect, residential schools set up by the Chinese Communist Party, where hundreds of thousands of Tibetan children are enrolled, is a key issue. They are separated from their families, stripped of their Tibetan identity and indoctrinated with official Chinese values, in Mandarin language exclusively.
This is Xi Jinping’s project: absorbing Tibetans into a nation united around the Communist Party. Sadly, while the world is increasingly embracing multiculturalism, China is moving towards monoculturalism.
As the Dalai Lama said at the Council of Europe some years ago this is the time of the rule of law, not the rule of one man. These words are a lodestar in a world where challenges to freedom and human rights have all but disappeared.
I wish you a very fruitful Convention and send you my best wishes.
Giulio Terzi