[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 127 (Wednesday, September 19, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6472-S6473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF LODI GYALTSEN GYARI
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign
Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res.
557 and the Senate proceed to its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 557) honoring the contributions of
Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari as Special Envoy of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama and in promoting the legitimate rights and
aspirations of the Tibetan people.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be
laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and that any
statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 557) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 557
Whereas Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, who was born in Nyarong, Kham
in 1949, was recognized according to Tibetan Buddhist
tradition as a reincarnate lama and began his monastic
studies at 4 years of age in Lhumorhab Monastery, which was
located in what is now Kardze Prefecture, Sichuan Province;
Whereas, in 1958, 9-year-old Lodi Gyari fled Nyarong with
his family to avoid pursuit by the Chinese People's
Liberation Army and was said to have led his group to safety
in India through prayer and divinations;
Whereas Lodi Gyari, as a young man in India, began a
career-long commitment to the Tibetan struggle against
Chinese oppression in Tibet, becoming editor for the Tibetan
Freedom Press, founder of the Tibetan Review, the first
English language journal published by Tibetans in exile, and
a founding member of the Tibetan Youth Congress;
Whereas Lodi Gyari served as a civil servant in the Central
Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as
Chairman of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, and as a Deputy
Cabinet Minister for the Departments of Religious Affairs and
Health and Cabinet Minister for the Department of Information
and International Relations;
Whereas, in 1991, Lodi Gyari moved to the United States in
the capacity of Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
and was soon after selected to be President of the
International Campaign for Tibet;
Whereas, for 3 decades, Lodi Gyari has met with leaders and
diplomats of governments around the world and with Members of
the United States Congress and parliaments of other nations--
(1) to explain the Tibetan position with regard to
engagement with China;
(2) to urge supportive strategies and policies from
governments;
(3) to explain the Dalai Lama's ``Middle Way'' philosophy
of seeking genuine autonomy for Tibet within the People's
Republic of China that contributes to harmony between the
Tibetan and Chinese peoples; and
(4) to promote Tibetan statecraft as the Dalai Lama's
senior ambassador-at-large;
Whereas, during his time as Special Envoy based in
Washington, DC, Congress approved many policy and
programmatic measures on Tibet, which served to
institutionalize the Tibet issue within the Government of the
United States, most notably the establishment of a Special
Coordinator on Tibetan Issues within the Department of State
and support for Tibetan refugees;
Whereas, in 1999, Lodi Gyari became a United States
citizen;
Whereas in May 1998, His Holiness the Dalai Lama authorized
Special Envoy Lodi Gyari to be the principal person to
reestablish contact with the Chinese government on the
Tibetan issue;
Whereas, between September 2002 and January 2010, Lodi
Gyari led the Dalai Lama's negotiating team in 9 formal
rounds of meetings with Chinese officials with tireless drive
and immense skill, winning the respect of the international
community;
Whereas Lodi Gyari presented the Chinese government with
the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People and
its accompanying Note, thus detailing the Tibetan side's
vision for a political solution for Tibet consistent within
the framework of the Chinese constitutional and laws on
autonomy;
Whereas Lodi Gyari, in service to the Dalai Lama, came to
represent in national capitals around the world, the great
hope and conviction that the rights of Tibetans could be
protected and their repression could be ended.
Whereas, in the personally and professionally difficult
task of representing Tibetan interests in dialogue with the
People's Republic of China, Lodi Gyari demonstrated spirit,
intelligence, and extraordinary tact, and brought civility,
reason and a measure of mutual understanding to the Tibetan-
Chinese relationship;
Whereas Lodi Gyari has credited the far-sighted wisdom of
His Holiness the Dalai Lama in empowering the Tibetan people
by his devolution of his political authority to an elected
Tibetan leadership; and
Whereas, Lodi Gyari resigned his position, effective June
1, 2012, in the context of the deteriorating situation inside
Tibet, including increasing incidents of Tibetan self-
immolations, and expressing deep frustration over the lack of
positive response from the Chinese side in their nearly 10-
year dialogue, and in respect for the process of the
devolution of political power to the elected Tibetan leaders.
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) honors the service of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari as Special
Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama;
(2) commends the achievements of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari in
building an international coalition of support for Tibet that
recognizes--
(A) the imperative to preserve the distinct culture and
religious traditions of Tibet; and
(B) that the Tibetan people are entitled under
international law to their own identity and dignity and
genuine autonomy within the People's Republic of China that
fully preserves the rights and dignity of the Tibetan people;
(3) acknowledges the role of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, as a
naturalized United States citizen, to promoting understanding
in the United States of the Tibetan people, their culture
[[Page S6473]]
and religion, and their struggle for genuine autonomy, human
rights, dignity, and the preservation of unique linguistic,
cultural, and religious traditions; and
(4) strongly supports a political solution for Tibet within
the People's Republic of China that satisfies the legitimate
grievances and aspirations of the Tibetan people.
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