DHARAMSHALA, January 11: The Amherst Regional Tibetan Association, located in North Hampton in the state of Massachusetts with a population of around 100 Tibetans, has officially become the 30th Tibetan Association in North America.

According to the Central Tibetan Administration, the inaugural function of the latest Tibetan association in North America was held on January 5 in the presence of Representative Lobsang Nyandak and Presidents of the two neighbouring Tibetan Associations of Boston and Connecticut.

During the ceremony, traditional scarves were offered at the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama following which a short prayer service and a minute’s silence was observed for the Tibetans who have lost their lives for Tibet.

Representative Nyandak in his address stressed on the importance of working in close cooperation to fulfil the goals of the Association. He also called on the public to be aware of the fact that the Central Tibetan Administration never discriminates nor discourages those who hold different viewpoints in the approach towards resolving the Tibetan issue.

Elections for the executive board members are scheduled at the end of the interim executive members’ tenure in a year’s time.

The Office of Tibet in New York, which serves as the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the CTA looks after the welfare of around 15,000 Tibetans living in the US and Canada and supports their efforts to pass down the knowledge of Tibetan language and culture to the younger generation.