By Tsering Dhundup
Dharamshala, 14 March: Months after the issue of Bon MP Monlam Tharchin’s alleged meeting with a Chinese embassy staff resulted in an adjournment of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile’s session in September last year, the Department of Security of the exile Tibetan government on Wednesday concluded in a report that there is no evidence of the alleged meeting.
On the first day of the continuation of the sixth session of the parliament on March 13, 2024, the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile Khenpo Sonam Temphel announced that MP Monlam Tharchin is exonerated from the allegations levied against him by MP Dawa Phunkyi during the 6th Parliament session held in September last year.
Quoting the report presented by the Department of Security to the Speaker Khenpo Sonam Temphel declared, “There is no evidence of MP Monlam Tharchin meeting the said Chinese Consular staff on July 6, 2023, in Siliguri, thus rendering the accusation against him as baseless.”
Elaborating on the report’s findings, Speaker Tenphel added, “The Department of Security statement indicates that firstly, the Chinese consulate was present at the Mayfair Resort on July 6th, 2023, and secondly, MP Monlam Tharchin and his friend were also present at the resort. Thirdly, there is no concrete evidence that the Chinese consulate and Geshe Monlam Tharchin met at the resort, as submitted by the Department of Security to the Parliament of Tibetan exile on November 6th, 2023.”
The 6th session of the TPiE in September 2023 was adjourned due to the lack of the required quorum, as stipulated in Article 49 of the Charter, which mandates the presence of at least two-thirds of MPs. Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel at the time said that a group of MPs declined to participate in the parliamentary proceedings until the Department of Security resolved the allegations regarding MP Geshe Monlam Tharchin’s purported meeting with Chinese government staff.
One Response
It’s pity that RFA and other media outlets magnified the announcement to catapult this controversial monk. His actions in the parliament proves that he has ulterior motives and working against our interests.