Dear Fellow Tibetans and Friends in North America,
Greetings and Tashi Delek to all of you as we celebrate the 43rd Anniversary of the Tibetan Democracy Day for Tibetans in Exile. On behalf of all Tibetans in the US and Canada, I would like to convey our sincere thanks and appreciation to His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, for his gift of democracy and many efforts over the years in empowering the Tibetan people. I also want to thank and acknowledge all of the people involved in assisting His Holiness since 1960, when the first Chitue elections were held.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome His Holiness, the Dalai Lama to the United States and thank all the communities and organizations involved in organizing His Holiness’ visit to five cities from September 4th through the 24th, which include San Francisco, Bloomington, Washington, DC, Boston and New York.
As we reflect on the many achievements and milestones in our young democracy in exile, we must remember that in order to fully realize our democratic ideals and to benefit from them, we must continue to have greater involvement and participation from the people. Even though I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your Representative to the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, I was surprised and disappointed with the voter turnout in the last Chitue Elections. I urge all of you to find out about the participation level in your own communities in the recent Chitue and Kalon Tripa elections held two years ago in North America. As per the Election Committee for North America, during the last Chitue elections, approximately 1000 of 3000 registered Tibetan voters participated in the elections, from an estimated total population of 8300 Tibetans. In reviewing the Green Book Contribution Report for 2001, it is apparent that there are many communities in the US and Canada who have less than desirable numbers of registered voters. Please see my web site for detailed participation levels based on estimated local Tibetan population for all of the thirty Tibetan communities in the US and Canada. With the current voter participation, if we were to be asked by His Holiness or the Tibetan Government-in-Exile to decide through a referendum on some important issues, only a small percentage in North America will be able to participate. Let us not leave it to others to decide for us! So, on this 43rd Anniversary of Tibetan Democracy Day, I urge all of you to remember the rights and responsibilities of Tibetan citizens outlined in our Charter for Tibetans in Exile. Needless to say, the right to vote and participate in public decisions affecting all of us, is very precious and important. It is a right that our fellow Tibetan brothers and sisters in Tibet can only wish they had, and look to us for inspiration. We must not take our democracy for granted. As His Holiness has said many times, ultimately it is up to the Tibetan people to decide regarding our cause and future. To those of you who have not participated, I urge you to take one big step for democracy by contacting your local Tibetan Association and registering your Green Book which serves as a voter identification. I would like to request volunteers from each community to assist your respective Tibetan Association in a Voter Registration Drive, so that all eligible Tibetans can be registered to vote. The Green Book Contributions is an important symbol of recognition and direct support for our Tibetan Government-in-Exile, while it also helps to fund important projects and social services that benefit many Tibetans. In order to improve the communication between the people and our Tibetan Government-in-Exile, I ask all of you to join the local and national e-mail networks that have already been set up for your Tibetan Associations.
Please see the attached summary and analysis of the recently approved Annual Budget of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile for the fiscal year 2003-2004. It lists the major expenses and where your Green Book Contributions go to. Please review and inform your friends and family of our current financial status.
I will be attending the next session of Parliament from September 10th through the 19th, in Dharamsala. We will be discussing the new proposals and amendments to existing election rules, as well as new proposals for the Green Book Contribution System. We are working towards making the Green Book System equitable and fair for all Tibetans in Exile based on income level, economic conditions and country of residence. Please visit my web site at www.tibet.org/nachitue for details of the proposals and copies of previous newsletters and statements. I welcome your suggestions and concerns regarding Tibetan issues.
Bhod Gyalo!
