By Youdon Aukatsang
Tibetans have successfully laid the foundations of democratic institutions over the 60 years of being in exile under the visionary leadership of HH the Dalai Lama and the commitment of elders. These institutions are not an end in themselves but vehicles to push our movement forward. However, without fully realizing the rationale of our movement in exile, we often find our priorities and focus get misplaced.
The current deadlock and the inability of the newly elected 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile (TPIE) to convene started off as an exercise of check and balance between Supreme Justice Commission (SJC) and the TPIE. The SJC using its contested sui motto powers decreed that the postponement of the 10th Session of the 16th House by the Speaker in August 2020 due to Covid 19 outbreak travel restrictions violates Article 40 of the Tibetan Charter. The Standing Committee of the TPIE refuted the decree and cited Article 58 of the Charter which prohibits the SJC from questioning the validity of any proceedings or decisions arrived at in the Parliament which are in conformity with relevant rules of the parliament. Despite a flurry of letters back and forth, both the bodies rigidly stuck to their respective positions. This finally led to SJC rescinding political right of the 11 Standing Committee members to vote in the Preliminary elections and the subsequent impeachment of the three justices under resolution #39 in the March 2021 Session.
The situation deteriorated further as turf battles, inflammatory remarks, misguided social media and electoral politics made for a combustible combination. The impeachment of the Commissioners and its aftermath further polarized the community. An additional session of the 16th TPIE did not take place as scheduled. The return to office of the three Commissioners after they had resigned two months earlier without going through a parliamentary process with proper closure on resolution 39 violates the Charter. However, the 16th TPIE was unable to resolve the matter before its termination.
The unresolved issue re-emerged as a new conflict arose over the swearing in of the newly elected members of the 17th TPIE. 22 members refused to take their oath from the Pro-tem Speaker who took his oath from the Chief Justice Commissioner. Members of this group, which includes myself, does not recognize the legitimacy of the resumption of office by the three Commissioners in the absence of any parliamentary proceeding following the impeachment. Two separate oath taking ceremony was conducted by the Parliamentary Secretariat on June 8th– one from the Pro-tem Speaker and the other in front of the HH’s portrait and a copy of the Charter. However, the Tibetan Election Commissioner (TEC) stalled further process of electing Speaker and Deputy Speaker as it has taken the position that the required 2/3rd quorum needed is absent based on the list of sworn members presented to him by the Pro-tem Speaker.
In hindsight, the SJC should not have issued a decree on the postponement of the parliamentary session and penalized the Standing Committee members given the travel restrictions under the Covid situation. The impeachment process could have been better managed with a resolution to constitute an investigative committee rather than bringing an impeachment motion that was introduced and passed in a rush. The Additional session should have taken place to find an amicable solution. The Justice Commissioners should not have resumed office without a proper parliamentary process. The entire situation should have been kept free of vested interests and electoral politics. Contradictions persist in politics as in all spheres of life. Whichever side one is on, there is a right and a wrong. There is no point in finding a scapegoat and instead we need to take collective responsibility for the situation that we are in.
The current deadlock in the exile Tibetan politics needs willingness from all parties concerned to transcend individual turfs, accept mistakes and take collective responsibility to resolve the issue with flexibility and open mindedness before the issue gets totally out of hand. The best way forward for this highly politicized issue is to find a win-win political solution.
Since the constitutional legitimacy of both the approaches to oath taking is questionable, the oath taking process undertaken must be recognized by both groups and the TEC as the starting point. The will of one group should not be imposed on the other. The same arrangement must be made with the oath taking of the elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker as well. Such an approach will enable the convening of the first session of the 17th House and all the related activities of filling the leadership. Furthermore, the legitimacy of the three Commissioners can be restored through introducing a resolution to revoke and void the impeachment motion 39 should that be the preference of the majority of the members.
We must ensure that the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and the Tibetan community in exile is spared such crisis in the future. The following recommendations would be important steps in the right direction:
- Constitute a high-level Committee comprised of members of parliament, a representative from Kashag and legal experts to revise and amend the Charter to address gaps and limitations. A draft should be presented within the next session of the Parliament.
- The amended Charter should have clear dispute and conflict resolution provisions so that disputes between the three pillars of democracy and with autonomous entities within the CTA are resolved in a systematic and timely manner
- Allow for virtual Parliament sessions in times of crisis and emergency and ensure that the TPIE has adequate resources and technical support to hold such sessions
- Standardize all impeachment processes with the requirement of a Parliamentary investigative committee prior to bringing the motion in the House
- Media must play a credible role as the fourth pillar of democracy enabling people to make informed and objective decisions based on facts
(Views expressed are her own)
The writer has been an elected member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile since the 14th House and is recently elected to the 17th House.
31 Responses
Just read an interesting article by Youdon la, who also happened to be one of the elected Chithues responsible for the current constitutional breakdown in exile parliament. She should understand and realized that the Tibetan people are deeply saddened and annoyed by your decision to impeach the TSJC on a very flimsy ground. There are certainly many other reasons for this ongoing Tamasha (drama), in your stage managed theatre, where the actors have visibly no concern and respect for the person of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the people. Most are driven by their egoistic and arrogant mindset of the feudal lords of bygone days.
If you have played a wise and constructive role in finding an amicable solution, this situation wouldn’t have arisen in the first place. Secondly, we sense some deliberate attempts by hidden forces to destabilize the CTA and make the tenure of newly elected Sikyong PT la ineffective and difficult. There are definitely some hostile forces, both internal and external hands behind this endless conflict today to weaken the Tibetan freedom movement.
The crux of the matter here is corruption. What is really happening is the notion ཁྲིམས་ཀྱིས་དབང་འགྱུར་ is overridden by གང་ཟག་གིས་དབང་འགྱུར་ Nepotism is cause of this development. The three disgraced justice commissioners are the very people who awarded the victory to plaintiff Penpa Tsering in the infamous case Nr 20. Now he is doing a favour to the three impeached commissioners by reinstating them even though it is illegal since resolution 39 has not been annulled. He is adamant to stick to his gun to keep his chummy friends employed against the ruling of resolution 39 which was an overwhelming two thirds majority.
No matter how his supporters spin it, there is no way any one who has an inkling of the rule of law evince reinstating cast away commissioners in any democratic institution. Can any one imagine some British ex-civil servants questioning the wisdom the British parliament and even gate crashing some disgraced official in the name of public demand? It is beyond imagination in a genuine democracy but with the Tibetans, most of whom have no idea of what democracy is let alone being Democrats, no body seems to care. This is democracy of undemocratic Tibetans. Most Tibetans have only a pretence of democracy but in their heart of hearts they are autocrats with a feudal mentality who have no respect for institutions but are swayed by people in power.
The Sikyong elect has promised “unity” in his election campaign but he is missing in action. He seems to be more concerned about his chamchas and their Kursi (seats) than the greater Tibetan cause of uniting the Tibetans in this grim tragedy that is unfolding both within Tibet and without.
He is also indebted to Dawa Tsering for anointing him in 2016 as the Sikyong candidate from U-Tsang and so he wants to return his gratitude to him by keeping him in his present portfolio and ultimately to make him the Speaker of the Parliament. It’s the first time in the history of CTA that such a web of corruption is spun in order to fulfil the personal agenda of a single person.
It’s an extremely dangerous game that will divide and terminally seal the fate of the unity of the Tibetan diaspora.
Without annulling resolution 39 how can the three expelled commissioners just parachute themselves? What kind of rules based law did they follow to reinstate themselves? This is the Law of the jungle. This is mobocracy where some rogue ex-CTA officials used their reach and influence to bring them back from the dead. If this is not ཟུར་པ་དཔུང་བསྒྲིགས་ what is it?
The only solution is either accept the swearing-in ceremony by the two different groups of chitues in their own way in order to stop the disunity that is tearing our community or
the other option is to ask the Dalai Lama to personally appoint a person who is respected by both parties to conduct the swearing in ceremony of all chitues. The British queen appoints Governors to conduct swearing in ceremonies for ministers including the Prime Ministers.
There is no merit in being intransigent. The very validity of the Sikyong Election is in peril. If the anger of the community builds without any tangible reconciliation, it will only diminish the Sikyong elect’s standing in the community.
By saying “The three disgraced justice commissioners are the very people who awarded the victory to plaintiff Penpa Tsering in the infamous case Nr 20,“ you have not only told a big lie and also badly exposed yourself as one of the stupid apologists for ex-Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, under whose watch democracy given to the Tibetan people by His Holiness the Dalai Lama crumbled. The verdict in favor of Penpa Tsering, now Sikyong, was given by Chief Justice Commissioner Kargyu Dhondup and not by the incumbent Chief Justice Commissioner Sonam Dagpo. This fact is available on phayul.com report of October 14, 2019. People like you are a disgrace – spreading lies and blindly following whosoever is dictating your thoughts.
The first line of Youdon Aukatsang’s article says, “Tibetans have successfully laid the foundations of democratic institutions over the 60 years of being in exile under the visionary leadership of HH the Dalai Lama and the commitment of elders.” Unfortunately she fails to apologize that today this democratic institution founded by His Holiness stands destroyed by the “misplaced” (her word) and irresponsible action of 22 chitue elect. What kind of dirty politics they are trying to play and at whose instigation? Hope they are not dancing to the tune of Ugyen Topgyal of Bir, who despite pulling a monk’s robe, leads lay life and has bad mouthed His Holiness the Dalai Lama. But very rightfully Tibetan people from all chokas and choelugs have lashed out at him. Instead of playing dirty politics in exile, these 22 chitue elect should be challenging the CCP in China under whom Tibetans in occupied Tibet are still suffering. The “way forward” is for Youdon-la and 21 chitue elect to accept, like the other chitues, their mistake in voting for the illegal #39 resolution and, as per Charter of Tibetans in Exile take oath from pro-tem speaker. If not, the Tibetan people will be happy to see them out like the speaker and deputy speaker for violating the sacred Charter.
The July 11 editorial in the respected Tibetan Review under the heading “The Tibetan Parliament stalemate – Much ado about nothing?” rightly points out, “The reason why the 17th Tibetan Parliament in Exile (TPiE) cannot be formed is straightforward: a section of the elected members does not want to take their oath of office according to the Charter of Tibetans in Exile.” I rest my case.
The member’s Youdon Aukastang this article is apparently to decieving once again the whole Tibetan society. It is just her own version article which is far from the truth, merely expressing her own notions and the ground reality is something really different of our present Parliament row. Let me code her words from the article ”Despite a flurry of letters back and forth, both the bodies rigidly stuck to their respective positions”. Is this the fact really? The answer is absolutely NO. I can’t digest it her meaning what Youdon la has mentioned here. Because the present real picture is the House of members got divided into two groups. And she says both the bodies- Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission & the TPiE rigidly stuck to their respective positions which is completely not true. Madam, Some around 21 former Chitues realised thier blunder mistake by passing #39 resolution in the TPiE and taken oath from the Protem speaker. Have not you seen that episode? Not only that, both Speaker & Deputy Speaker had resigned from their job seat due to the realization of their mistakes committed as per not rule of Charter. A few months ago, The Australian Chitue Kyinzom has written one article and published on this site Phayul. And in her article, Kyinzom la has written also that she has been realised her mistake by passing this #39 resolution. Hence, think out of the box, broadly and you can study the situation from all directions.
Another code, ‘The situation deteriorated further as turf battles, inflammatory remarks, misguided social media and electoral politics made for a combustible combination’- Youdon la, Gone are those days when officials can fool public and break the rules, the year is 2021 crossing the millennium and the present Tibetan people are not fool, you said the words like ‘ misguided social media & inflammatory remarks’, that is not all true. Definitely the people will obviously oppose the breaching of Chatrim rules & write comments when you break the rules of Chatrim which is not a normal travail sort of document.
Let’s take the small example Do you think the people commenting here all foolish. Think yourself please and Think for the nation. I believe you members got a very good lesson & experience this time from the Tibetan public.
Thank you.
The limbo state of Tibetan political affairs is attributed to the word “Suo moto”.
According to the dictionary “Suo moto – relating to an action taken by a court of its own accord, without any request by the parties involved.”
To execute the power of “Suo moto”- the power must be granted to court by parliament after the bill is debated in the parliament.
When was the bill for” Suo moto” placed before the Tibetan parliament? Was it debated in parliament and approved by members to a become law. A bill to become law must be placed before a parliament for approval. The bill has to be debated thoroughly by the members before it is either adopted or rejected.
Tibetan justice department submitted a notification to the parliament requesting for “Suo moto” authority. But the speaker of the house never put it before the parliament for debate. However, the Justice Department at its discretion took the authority to execute an act of “Suo moto” to punish parliamentarians who failed to convene the session during the” Covid” restriction throughout the world.
As such who is right and who is wrong depends on whether the justice department has the power to issue ” Suo moto” or not.
Here no due legal process is followed and the Tibetan Justice department overstepped their right.
Thank you Tenzin Damdul for exposing hypocrisy of 22 self-serving chitues who not taking oath from Pro-tem speaker as per Charter of Tibetans in exile. We do not need these chitues as they are not serving any useful purpose. Also why the tiny Dotoe refugee population able to elect 10 chitues, same as U-tsang who have three times their population. This is not democratic. No wonder each election Dotoes have no choice and so elect people with bad reputation or recycle same arrogant, unqualified people as their chitue who are embarrassment to the Tibetan people and our cause. When speaking in parliament these chitues act and talk as if they are MPs in a free country. The truth is they are there to serve interest of the Tibetan people and not paid to speak or indulge in petty regional or cholka politics. Also laughable is monks having two votes – one for the region they belong and another for Tibetan Buddhist sect they belong. This unfair voting pattern should be scrapped. Monks should not be chitues or involve in political matters. Rather they should follow His Holiness the Dalai Lama who has given up his political powers and position.
Dekyi Wangmo and Tenzin Damdul: I am under the impression these people are not real Tibetans but Chinese trolls. They obviously seek to divide the Tibetan community on regional lines. However, if they happen to be Tibetans, here are a few things to consider.
The nation of Tibet has a history of the peoples hailing from the three provinces of Kham, Amdo and U-Tsang. Since, the disintegration of the great Tibetan empire in the ninth century, the Chinese encroached on Tibetan territory and gradually large parts of Kham and Amdo were occupied by the Chinese. They even divided Tibet into so called “inner Tibet and Outer Tibet”. The part which was ruled by the Lhasa Government was called “outer Tibet” while those which had fallen under Chinese influence were called “inner Tibet”. However, the Chinese had no control over these so called “inner Tibet” areas since they were ruled by their local kings or chieftains. The area ruled by the Lhasa Government was independent. But the Lhasa Government had never relinquished claim over the whole of Tibet. The 13th Dalai Lama Thubtan Gyatso tried to regain all Tibetan territories under the leadership of Kalon Jhampa Tender and a great deal was achieved since the Manchu empire was terminally in decline.
The present Dalai Lama has continued the same policy of the 13th Dalai Lama to unify Tibet. That is why he relinquished the notion of independence in favour of genuine autonomy for the entire Tibetan territory. This was specifically done to unify the Tibetan nation bequeathed by Songtsen Gampo, Trisong Deutsen and Tri Ralpachen. So, there is no question of any other way than a United Tibetan Nation comprising all three provinces of Kham, Amdo and U-Tsang.
It’s the Chinese communists who want to divide us and take away the whole of Kham and Amdo. They have been extremely busy in creating discord and division among the three provinces in order to fulfil their evil design. These two people are doing exactly the work of the Chinese communists by driving wedges between Kham on one side and U-Tsang and Amdo on the other. If they are Tibetans, they may be doing it unwittingly but all the same it’s damaging Tibetan unity which is our strength.
Getting into the nitty gritty part, you claim that because Dotoe has a smaller population in exile, they have no choice but elect people with “bad reputation” “recycle same arrogant, unqualified people as their chitues”.
Let’s look at U-Tsang how intelligent people U-Tsang has elected who are free from bad reputation. Without soiling every one, but to give a few examples, how many times did U-Tsang recycle Dawa Tsering, Dolma Tsering and Dawa Phunkyi? They have been elected for well over half a century and they can hardly drag themselves but still U-Tsang has nobody else except these old hags! Reputation? What is Dawa Tsering’s reputation? He had the temerity to reject the rulings of the Tibetan Supreme Court concerning Yongling School custody controversy. He is in contempt of court! Do you still have the audacity to talk about reputation and arrogance?
What brain does Dawa Tsering, Dolma Tsering and company have to contribute for Tibet? Can you tell me Tenzin Damdul? What can you show the Tibetan people what Dawa Tsering, Dolma Tsering and Dawa Phunkyi and their ilk have done for Tibet in their half a century in parliament except warming their seats? Is Dolma Tsering’s attempt to ban “Bod Gyalo” a great contribution for freedom of speech? Who is brainless?
The racist and narrow minded people like you guys are destroying our unity and with that the CTA. It’s not the other way round.
In democracy, you have to respect people’s verdict whether you like or not. The dissenting chitues are elected by the public and you have to respect them. That’s the very essence of democracy. Otherwise, why do we have elections in the first place?
Tibet’s very life blood is Buddhism. It’s the treasure that has made the people we are. A people who are loved around the world. In order to safe guard that treasure we need our Buddhist universities like Sera, Drepung, Ganden, Tashi Lhunpo and all the great learning centres of the Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma and Bon. They need to be represented in the parliament because the Tibetan clergy plays a vital role in the lives of the Tibetan people. They are looked up and respected more than the lay person. Even the anti-Buddhist communists of China have belatedly realised this and are calling upon the clergy to play a constructive role in “ethnic unity”. You may be anti-monk but the Tibetan people are not! There lies the secret of the monk’s role in Tibetan society and because of that they must have representation.
Tibet was ruled by monks for centuries and there has been stability, trust and confidence of the people in the Government. Since 2011, Lama rule ended and power was devolved to the lay elected people. Look at the mess now! Do you get it?
“The three disgraced justice commissioners are the very people who awarded the victory to plaintiff Penpa Tsering in the infamous case Nr 20. ”
That is completely false. It was not Sonam Norbu Dagpo who presided the case No 20.
according to https://www.contactmagazine.net/articles/case-no-20-still-unresolved/ On October 14, 2019, the court ruled in favour of Penpa Tsering. The session lasted nearly five hours in which the Chief Justice Commissioner Kargyu Dhondup went through minutes of the case. The plaintiff, Penpa Tsering, was able to prove all five points of his defence whereas the defendant team failed to prove any of its 14 mandatory points.
In her opinion piece Youdon Aukatsang says, “The impeachment process could have been better managed with a resolution to constitute an investigative committee rather than bringing an impeachment motion that was introduced and passed in a rush.” What she fails to admit is her participation in this rushed passage of the invalid impeachment process that breached the Tibetan Charter. Like other chitues she should have bravely admitted her mistake and avoided the second mistake by taking oath from the Pro-tem speaker as per the Charter. Democracy is following the rule of law and Charter.
Given our current exile situation, there is really no need for chitues. The 22 chitues, including her, who did not take oath from Pro-tem speaker, should admit their mistakes and their seat taken by those in the waiting list. If this fails believe me the Tibetan people will not miss these chitue because they already have hurt the feelings of Tibetans both in and outside Chinese-occupied Tibet. We should also do away with this flawed election system whereby Dotoe voters’ because of their small population end up electing the same old people with no brain and shameful record like Chonpel Thupten who was kicked out of Kugyer Yiktsang for stealing money sent to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is criminality and not democracy.
Unfortunately, Dotoe chitue-elects and choelug chitue-elects also from Dotoe region have proved themselves to be hypocrites. They insist on taking oath before the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama but are shamed to accept the fact that His Holiness blessed and addressed the oath taking ceremony of Sikyong Penpa Tsering-la from Chief Justice Commissioner Sonam Dagpo-la. There are reports they later visited the notorious Ugyen Topgyal in Bir. Not sure if Youdon-la was among this Ugyen Topgyal chamchagiri group. If so, what a shame and disgraceful reputation.
What these so-called chitues from Dotoe brand seem to be doing is destroying CTA and democracy given to the Tibetan people by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This being so, there is absolutely no need for chitues as CTA can save lots of money that can be better used to further enhance the Tibetan freedom struggle against the oppressive totalitarian Chinese rule in Tibet.
The question here for some of the commenters here is …..if the resolution 39 is invalid then why did the 3 judges resign or recuse in the first place? This clearly shows that they sorely lack understanding of our constitution and hence can’t be trusted to either interpret, execute, or protect our charter. And then much to our amazement the manner in which they returned and grabbed their old seats back so thuggishly proves beyond any doubt that they are not only literally unqualified
but morally unfit too. Infact, they must be sentenced to re-education of the Chatrim before they are allowed loved back into our society. Now, as for the current standoff of our parliament, the easiest way out is for the EC to acknowledge both side’s manner of oath taking and convene the 17th Parliament wherein solutions can be discussed to avoid crisis in the future. Also, a speaker and deputy speaker could be elected who can readminister the oath if so desired and set the ball rolling to find new judges asap. So, yes Youdon Aukatsang is unquestionably right here that it is time to seek a win-win situation and move on forward.
The only winners in this crisis are the CCP, ticking another of their boxes to cause the maximum disruption to the whole world using whatever means they can employ
Thank you Youdon la for sharing your thoughts with the public. Truly appreciate that.
At this point time, We must believe in focusing on ‘not who is right but what is right, accepting where we ourselves are wrong, and saying sorry. As per what I understood so far is that we can’t fix everything legally. Every Tibetan must be mindful and search inwardly – and together – for ways in which we can rebuild the pillars of the democracy as soon as possible before it breaks completely.
This deadlock is going on for too long. We need the parliament running in order that our govt in exile can seize this moment of heightened scrutiny against the Chinese govt to our advantage.
There is our charter and there is His Holiness. His Holiness’ many years of perseverance in transitioning the Tibetan govt to a representative one, right from the moment we stepped into Indian land as exiles, made the charter possible. The charter is above all. But taking oath from His Holiness’ portrait & the charter in front of you is not any closer to how a democratic system works than the SJC’s resuming their duties in spite of being impeached. Both are rogue acts.
The bottom line is:
His Holiness graced the occasion of the transfer of the Sikyong responsibility from the outgoing to the incoming(however tactfully coerced it may have been). Take heed to that, our 22 elected parliamentarians who are sitting out still. His Holiness has verbally accepted our current Sikyong as the newly elected head of our govt in exile. That it makes it insignificant, even if it does not nullify, the argument of unacceptability of the Pro-tem Speaker & the SJC. The democratic system that we enjoy now was not born out of some great revolution&resistance therefore it’s hard to realize it’s full significance. Thank His Holiness that we are nurtured thus far to think as free citizens with equal rights to representation in the govt however lopesided this system still maybe. It is better than what our exile could have been if we didn’t have a visionary leader in His Holiness.
Save our democratic system. Take oath from the Pro-tem Speaker even if it means you are going against your vote in ousting the SJC because this is greater than you & me, this is about keeping our democratic foundation from fracturing further.
Get the 17th parliament session going without losing too much time. Our 22 elected parliamentarians and the rest can debate this & all the issues that has led to this once you all start functioning as the legislative branch. You can even bring the issue of the SJC into the parliament and dismiss them by majority voting again. All these things are possible if our democratic system does not falter further and the more time that we are in this stale mate, more likely we will end up broken for good & a sorry picture for the world to see.
We wish His Holiness a 126 years of life & yet we dismiss the very thing He worked hard to build, all because of difficulty seeing the larger picture at stake. Step in the right direction, please, so that our govt in exile can proudly seize the day and the light that’s shining on us now & propel our deepest aspirations closer to its goal.
This is not a time to play blame game. Youdon la has come with reasonable opinion and there is no solution unless the Election Commissioner accept both oath to carry on remaining work. It depends whether EC and his team behind the curtain have true intention to resolve this outstanding issue. The fact is that no matter whatsoever experts define about the impeachment of TSJC, the resolution #39 cannot be devalued nor overrode as it has become an act and it is a law.
Parliament Secretariate’s oath taking notice released 14 hours before the real Oath taking ceremony organized. There is no excuse for EC living at Gangkyi that he could not immediately notify Secretary to stop Oath taking group B, if he did not agree or he believed everyone should take oath from Pro-tem President Mr. Dawa Tsering la. Tibetans living aboard have seen two different types of Oath taking ceremony were organized and officially notified. There might be unacceptable situation created or happened with EC after 16 hours since the Oath taking notice released and Oaths were already officially concluded.
No one can pretend that without the team of Kashag and Chithue, the exile government could function well. The exile government had been basically two tires till STJC established in 90’s. Hence, without two tires, it is not fully functioning government. Currently, there are no Kashag and no Chithue. The longer it takes to fill the gap, the more it could harm to exercise many essential works for Tsadon. This must realize and understand by everyone who are behind the curtain and playing dirty games.
The political flippancy and spinelessness displayed here by a TPiE member Youdon Aukatsang is appalling!
Firstly, she calls the suo-moto/motu, spelling it incorrectly, as “contested.” What has she been doing through the sessions these past two years since the time TSJC enforced suo-moto as per Article 67 of the Tibetan Charter, which states: “Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission Subject to the provisions of any law as specified in this Charter passed by the Tibetan Assembly, the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission shall make its own rules of procedure and codes of law.”
Secondly, Yudon Auktsang must not lie on the fact that the local HP govt. and Kangra District authorities approved the assemblage of TPIE. Also, TSJC’s prior judicial order, suo-moto, show-cause, and final verdict were not done without due diligence of the law that governs the Indian union/state and CTA.
Thirdly, talks are abound that Youdon Aukatsang was among those people who wanted to block the Parliament from convening in order to facilitate his brother’s callous campaign and Sikyong’s semi-official visits, so that they can go unchecked and be unaccountable. It is shameful for Youdon to decry TSJC’s rightful demand that TPIE members man up and justify their salary and prestige to convene an assembly to address how to prevent the imminent spread of COVID-19 to our community.
Fourthly, for someone claiming to have attended universities in the US (as per her bio) and studied politics, Youdon Aukatsang owes the public an explanation on whether the legislative body can introduce and pass a vengeful retaliatory bill to not only nullify the verdict but to destroy the third pillar of democracy—the judiciary—by removing the three constituting judges. TPIE has, in its official archive, the video recording of Pema Jungney testifying on the floor that he warned the TSJC of “dire consequences,” if they did not revoke their verdict. Then Pema Jungney, defying all constitutional laws and conventions, introduced a bill which the regionalists and religious conservatives, illegally voted in its favor. Youdon, who had drawn salary and DA for more than fifteen years, can show me one charter that warrants the removal of the judiciary by a legislative in such as mean, illegal, vengeful, and retaliatory manner, and without the due process of law.
In the removal of TSJC, the illegality of the “process” and criminality of the “motive” on the part of TPIE are self-evidentiary. Thanks god! Tibetans are not charging Pema Jungney, Yeshi Phuntsok, and the thugs for illegal usurpation of power and for the remaining TPiE for just remaining mum. It’s a tyranny run amok! Shame on you all!
If this is the law, politics, and governance that Youdon Aukatsng and others have learned from the universities or colleges, I would bin or burn the degree certificates then and there!
Tsering says, “Our exile parliament elected officials must study the constitution. Old days of time passing is bygone days. We must appreciate the efforts put by the founders & there is always humble way seek their advice.
In the present situation, I am dumbfounded by the situation where 22 elected officials feel smarter than His Holiness & Ex- Sikyong by not following the norm. Few of these chithues from the previous term has their own agenda. Six million Tibetans support the present Sikyong and his agenda. This drama created by 22 chithues is making the new administration harder to work to dispel the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Tibet. Watch the news sent from Tibet, risking their lives, so that exile community will support them with one voice!”
I appreciate this comment. Since it has been written with due deliberation.
The most important thing a Tibetan must understand is to follow our Tibetan Govt. in Exile’s charter in letter and spirit. There should not be any ambiguity to pave way for any twisting on this issue or one can do is to amend the charter. The dramas that followed from months were the creation of not having faith in our Charter. What ever the unruly and poisoned chithues of earlier and that have not taken the oath till this day have other things in mind. Many of them might be colluding with the Chinese to destabilize the Tibetan diaspora and to kill the Tibetan spirit that have been longing for our fatherland – Tibet.
Few people have been talking of balancing act in this dramas. How can you balance a thing that was not enshrined in our Charter. If done, everyone in the coming days will twist the Charter on their own ways and this will open the Pandora’s box. The elected chithues who have not taken oath must resign gracefully and pave the way to the waiting ones or Election Commission must act to thwart the ill design of these unruly people and give oath to the elected waiting chithues or call fresh election immediately without wasting any iota to time.
Youdon Aukatsang is a sore loser who is still not done with Kaydor’s election loss. Therefore, she is siding with Tulku Ugyen Topgyal group. She is ignorant to call suo moto “contested” and to call for middle way in a crises where she along with guilty chithus recklessly dismissed Justice Commissioners for no other crime than for the simple reason that they were doing their given responsibilities. The reason and procedure for dismissal was unconstitutional and revenge based. The Justice commissioners should file a case of wrongful dismissal and defamation of their character by these ignorant chithus and their supporters. Still asking for middle way after going reckless with vengeance. Shame! Shame!
Hello Member Youdon Aukastang la,
As you have written a big article on our exile TPiE & Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission issue. You must know that who has initially created this big problem in our Tibetan community in exile & inside both Tibet as a whole. As a matter of fact, the 16th TPiE members did not follow the Charter rule correctly and you members blindly passed the resolution#39 in the Parliament and impeached all 3 supreme Judges in one go . Please check the Charter rules and open up your eyes. And Secondly, the blunder is again 22 Chitues including you, have been created another blow by not following the Charter for 17th house oath taking ceremony as per its rules. But giving another sort of pretensions or drama that you members were followed the rules by taking oath from the Portrait of His Holiness & a copy of Charter book but in reality, you members do not follow the charter inside rules.
Needless to say, His Holiness is our root Guru-Tsawe Lama and we all believe in His Holiness teachings, highly respected and in his vision. Anyhow, you members are full accountable for creating this present constitutional breakdown although you are still obstinate in nature #39 resolution passed in the parliament. These 2 systems were totally unlawful acts which are not at all matching with the rules of the Charter. You certain members are always a rule-breaker & trouble makers in the Tibetan society. Public is on the secondary level. I do not see any single word like sorry that you said or accepting your blunder mistakes from lack of intelligence unused brain. Besides, do this and do that giving order instructions to resolve the issue which can not be easily resolved or in a dead lock mode. This is really disappointing & sad. Most of the newly elected House 17th Utsang & Dome Chitues accepted their mistakes of passing the earlier #39 resolution and taken oath appropriately from the Protem speaker according to the Charter rules. Now the big question or headache is why don’t you members can’t take a simple oath from Protem speaker? There is no any row when newly elected Sikyong PT has taken oath in front of Tibetan Supreme Judge. So Are you saying that the present new Sikyong is not Sikyong or unacceptable? Grow up Youdon la, forget about your EGO & better to accept your blunder mistakes and think broader in a sense for our Tibet nation and the Tibet cause. Kindly don’t create any unnecessary chaos in our society. The passed 39th resolution is invalid automatically as per Charter rule article#5. Please note it.
Thank you.
Hello Member Youdon Aukastang la,
You have written a big article on our exile TPiE & Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission issue. You must know that who has initially created this big problem in our Tibetan community in exile & inside both Tibet as a whole. As a matter of fact, the 16th TPiE members did not follow the Charter rule correctly and you members blindly passed the resolution#39 in the Parliament and impeached all 3 supreme Judges in one go . Please please please check the Charter rules and open up your eyes. And Secondly, the blunder is again 22 Chitues including you, have been created another big blow by not following the Charter for 17th house oath taking ceremony as per its rules. But giving another sort of pretensions that you members are following & taking oath from the Portrait of His Holiness & a copy of Charter book but in reality, you members do not follow the charter inside rules. Needless to say, His Holiness is our root Guru-Tsawe Lama and we all believe in His Holiness teachings, highly respected and in his vision. Anyhow, you members are full accountable for creating this present constitutional breakdown although you are still obstinate in nature about your majority decision of #39 resolution passed in the parliament. These 2 systems or dramas are totally unlawful acts which are not at all matching with the rules of the Charter. You members are always a rule-breaker & trouble makers in the Tibetan society. I do not find any single word like sorry that you said or accepting your blunder mistakes from your intelligence unused brain. Apart from that, do this and that order instructions to resolve the issue which can not be easily resolved. This is really disappointing & sad. Most of the newly elected House 17th Utsang & Dome Chitues accepted their mistakes of passing the #39 resolution and taken oath appropriately from the Protem speaker according to the Charter rules and the big question or headache is why you members cant take oath from Protem speaker? Grow up Grow up now & better to accept your blunder mistakes and think broader for our Tibet and the Tibet cause. Kindly don’t create unnecessary chaos like in our society. The passed 39th resolution is invalid automatically as per Charter rule article#5. Please note it seriously.
Thank you.
Congratulation to Youdon la, for this comprehensive and well-written article on existing Tibetan political crises. She narrates, in brief, how the crises emerged and layout a thoughtful solution how it can be resolved, what legislative action can be taken to avoid such issues in the future.
The article should be read with an unbiased view, with a positive attitude to find the light at the end of the tunnel.
Gonpo Dorjee
Unfortunately, the creator of the problem cannot provide a solution! Youdon Aukatsang shows her lack of intelligence and poor political awareness.
1) Since there is no functioning Khasag, where will the members of Kashag come from?
2) Legal expert, since there is not a single Tibetan constitutional lawyer, will the legal expert made up of Indian and foreign experts?
3) Since Chitue members already divided, selected members of Chitue has to represent this divide, this would mean we will have another deadlock.
I can go on and show the weakness of your supposed thoughtful suggestion.
Thank you for the detail explanation why and how such problems arises between TPIE and TSJC. I also liked your solution. We should respect each other”s conscience and move forward to work for our common goal.
Our exile parliament elected officials must study the constitution. Old days of time passing is bygone days. We must appreciate the efforts put by the founders & there is always humble way seek their advice.
In the present situation, I am dumbfounded by the situation where 22 elected officials feel smarter than His Holiness & Ex- Sikyong by not following the norm. Few of these chithues from the previous term has their own agenda. Six million tibetans support the present Sikyong and his agenda. This drama created by 22 chithues is making the new administration harder to work to dispel the suffering of our brothers and sisters in tibet. Watch the news sent from tibet, risking their lives, so that exile community will support them with one voice!
Accept what is in the current Charter for taking the Oath & then only 17th Elected Parliamentarian s can work to resolve the issue by either amendment or resigning from the post. The biggest drawback in our exile leadership is by not accepting their’s mistakes. The reality is that there is a way or path to follow and just do that as YA very yknows that Bill or Resolution 39 was wrongly brought in the House and thus nullified under Article 5. Grow up and don’t forget that we are all political refugees.
དམ་འབུལ་བར་ཕྱོགས་གཉིས་ནས་དགོང་པ་ཟབ་བཞེས་དང་སྐུ་ལས་ཡག་ལོ་བསྐྱོན་སོང་བས་དེར་དཀའ་དྲིན་ཆེ་ཞུ་ ཡིན་ནའང་དམ་འབུལ་གྲུབ་པའི་རྗེས་སུ་དཀའ་ངལ་བསལ་མ་ཐུབ་པའི་རྒྱུ་མཚན་ནི་བར་རྒལ་ཚོགས་གཙོས་དྲང་པོ་མ་བྱས་དང་རང་ཉིད་ཀྱི་མདུན་དམ་འབུལ་ཞུ་མཁན་མ་གཏོགས་གཞན་༧གོང་ས་མཆོག་དག་བཅའ་འཁྲིམས་སུ་དམ་འབུལ་མཛད་པ་རྣམས་དབུས་འོས་བསྔུ་ལས་ཁུངས་སུ་ཡིག་ཐོག་ནང་ཁ་གསལ་མ་ཞུས་པའི་དབང་གིས་རེད་འདུག་ སྤྱིར་་ཚོགས་གཙོའི་ལས་འགན་ནི་རང་གི་འདོད་ཕྱོགས་སུ་མཐུན་མིན་ལ་མ་བལྟོས་པར་གོང་མར་ཡང་ན་འབྲེལ་ཡོད་ལ་ཚིག་མཐོ་ཁ་གསལ་ཕུལ་ཐུབ་གནང་དགོས་རྒྱུ་འདི་རེད་ དེ་ལྟར་མ་གནང་བ་སོང་ཙང་ད་བར་དེ་མུར་ལུས་པ་རེད་ དེ་ནས་འགག་པ་རེད་ དེ་ནས་དཀའ་ངལ་བསལ་མ་ཐུབ་པ་རེད་
In such a challenging time, Youdon la has produced a fairly balanced piece with workable proposal. I welcome her four proposals:- a) To form a high level and unbiased Committee to revise, change, amend or add or delete the current charter fix the crisis b) To resolve and settle the current dispute and conflict amongst the three pillars c) To let online or virtual Parliament session to get maximum participation and result to get back on track of our Parliament d) To standardise a clear and easy legal impeachment process. I am not sure on her fifth and final proposal as media to treat as fourth pillar and to play a credible role. In a democratic institutions media cannot be controlled. Medias can be biased, uncompromising, rigid and partisan. I prefer to leave the media alone and it is up officials when to feed the media or invite the media. Don’t let our Tibetan media struck in our tiny exile community comfort zone. Let them work hard like others to find news beyond compfort zone perimeter.
Youdon aukatsang is empty mind chithu who don’t know the mistake she made and still asking others to support their mistake. Take oath from Pro-tem speaker which is lawly way. Don’t break rule. respect charter.
Thank you for such clear and informative piece of opinions. I fully agree with your thoughts and recommendation. This is the most viable solution to end this sad political crisis. There is more to be done than vesting our time and energy in internal unresolved egocentric power politics. Hoping a thoughtful resolution will emerged to fulfil the will of both the parties. A win win political resolution is the need of the hour to restore the functioning of the Tibetan parliament in exile. Feeling hopeful.
You are wrong. Democracy means rule of law. When you are govern by rule of law, Supreme Justice Commission must protect the constitution. Speaker of TIbetan parliament in Exile, himself disqualified Europe MP for failing to attend the consecutive session of the parliament. COVID or no COVID, rule is rule, Pema Jungney rightly argued then.
The problem is the supreme justice commissioner cannot prosecute the case and deliver judgement on the case. In which functioning judiciary anywhere in the world have you seen this? TSJC can bring a case against the TPiE and it can also adjudicate on the case 😂 banana republic