News and Views on Tibet

Dalai Lama receives human rights prize

Share on facebook
Share on google
Share on twitter

Madrid, Spain, October 9 – Dalai Lama delivered a message of peace and renewed his call for Tibet’s political autonomy on Thursday when he received a human rights prize during a visit to Spain.

“I would like meaningful autonomy for Tibet. I’m trying to ensure that political autonomy for Tibet is real and significant,” he said after receiving the Jaime Brunet Prize for Human Rights.

The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, received the annual award at the Madrid offices of the European Parliament. He met with Spanish opposition politicians, but senior government officials were not present at the ceremony — a gesture broadly criticized by the Spanish media, which attributed the absence to political pressure from China.

In recent decades, the religious leader has travelled abroad frequently to conduct Buddhist ceremonies and seek support for his peaceful campaign for Tibetan political and cultural rights. The Dalai Lama left Tibet for exile in India in 1959 after an aborted uprising that year against Chinese rule.

China, which seized Tibet in 1951, claims the Himalayan region has been Chinese territory for centuries.

“The Tibetan people have much expectation from me, and I’ve this responsibility to preserve their culture and human rights,” the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *