By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 9: Exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent a heartfelt message to United States Speaker of the House of Representative Nancy Pelosi after the latter was conferred the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) Democracy award.
In a pre-recorded video message released on Wednesday by his office, the Tibetan leader said Pelosi is someone he respects and trusts for her untiring work in the field of human rights and justice. He said, “I really admire your determination, your courage to show support about the Tibetan struggle” adding he also admires her commitment to “stand firm with the truth”.
The Dalai Lama added the veteran US politician is a very “precious and important” figure for the Tibetan people and their struggle. “So, I pray for your long life and healthy body. Thank you,” concluded the octogenarian Tibetan leader.
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been a champion of international democracy and human rights during her entire career in the U.S. Congress. For her ground breaking leadership as a woman political leader, and for her staunch defense of democracy and human rights around the globe, NDI is proud to honor Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the Democracy Award,” the statement read.
Speaker Pelosi, a veteran Democrat leader has been a vocal critic of human rights abuses all over the world, particularly China for the regime’s repressive policies in Tibet, East Turkestan and recently in Hong Kong. Her association with the Tibetan people spans decades; she visited Tibet and also made two visits to Dharamshala in 2008 and 2017 when she led a bipartisan congressional delegation from the United States. Pelosi has said the free world will have lost its moral authority to speak about human rights if it did not speak up against Chinese oppression in Tibet. “The situation in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world,” Pelosi said in Dharamshala in 2017.
Nancy Pelosi is the highest ranking serving female politician in the US. She is the incumbent Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019, and previously from 2007 to 2011.
