By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, July 20: The exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has expressed his condolences for the passing of renowned American civil rights activist and Congressman John Lewis who died Friday after a six-month battle with cancer aged 80.
“I am saddened to learn of the passing of Congressman John Lewis. He was not only a leader of the American civil rights movement; his principled commitment to non-violence and justice made him an inspiration and a moral beacon to the world at large.”
“Like millions of people throughout the world I am an admirer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Whenever I talk about non-violence, I cite the examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King. Congressman Lewis not only knew Dr. King, but also gave him crucial support. Although I did not have the privilege of meeting Dr. King myself, in meeting Congressman Lewis, I feel have made a direct connection with him,” the Dalai Lama wrote in a letter dated July 19, 2020.
The Tibetan leader who is an advocate for peace and non violence said Congressman Lewis adhered to the fundamental democratic values of liberty, equality and justice, and earned respect and admiration not only from the public but also from his opposition at Washington. “Although he is no more, his personal example remains to inspire Americans to make their country and the wider world a better place for everyone,” the octogenarian Tibetan leader wrote.
Congressman John Lewis was an iconic black civil rights activist who survived a brutal beating by police during a landmark 1965 march in Selma, Alabama and went on to become a long time US lawmaker who is regarded for his moral benchmark in the US Congress for his decades long practice of non-violence during the fight for civil rights.
