Ms. Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-0100
Date: January 14, 2009
Subject: Congratulations from Tibetan Women's Association
Your Excellency,
Tibetan Women's Association would like to congratulate you on being the first woman speaker of the US Congress and on your historic re-election as the speaker of the 111th US Congress. We very much appreciate your lifetime of work upholding human rights around the world and particularly that of Tibet. The Tibetan people feel a karmic bond with you and you have indeed been our savior. Your visit to Dharamsala on March 21 in the midst of a crucial time was indeed therapeutic and enlightening. Your indomitable presence will be revered as being God-sent and very symbolic; full of hope, peace and benignity. The joy radiant on His Holiness the Dalai Lama's face during your visit to will be etched in the finest memories of the Tibetan people and your gratefulness and support for Tibet will be cherished by all the Tibetan people for hundred of Kalpas. Nancy, thank you for bringing light to us at a very dark and crucial period in our history.
The Tibetan people stand at an important crossroads as we head close to the 50th commemoration of the March 1959 uprising against China's occupation of Tibet. After 49 years of Chinese occupation, Tibet today is still in shambles: the people are silenced violently; there is no freedom of faith; the developmental and economic plans introduced by the State do not benefit the Tibetan people. The once serene and rich environment of Tibet is now on the verge of annihilation; and the cultural, linguistic and religious identity of a race is under threat. The world witnessed a series of demonstrations and protests inside Tibet since March 10 this year by the Tibetans who are striving towards freedom and autonomy. The Chinese authorities are still disallowing the presence of journalists and reporters into the country, and so a fuller picture of events from over the past few months has been difficult to obtain. Since March, however, we do know the sweep of protests across Tibet resulted in the death of 203 Tibetans, 1000 injured Tibetans and more than 5,715 Tibetans who either remain detained or have been missing.
Since 2002, eight rounds of talk between the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese leadership have taken place without any foreseeable developments in Tibet. Amidst such paradigm, the Chinese government in its paranoia, clamped down hard on the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people in Tibet. We are confident that during your tenure as the Speaker, you will continue to focus on the human rights situation inside Tibet as crucial and of one requiring immediate attention and that you will address our concerns to stop the debacle of International Human Rights Law in Tibet and significantly seek to avert the looming threat and danger that befalls Tibet and Tibetans. Tibet as a nation needs to survive and thrive. We earnestly request you to see the possibility of allowing a team of independent observers to travel to Tibet to assess the situation in the aftermath of the protests this spring. The restoration of a free and peaceful Tibet as envisioned and outlined by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the Middle Way approach will benefit the whole of Asia politically and environmentally and will undoubtedly contribute to world peace. Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) has 49 regional chapters and over 15, 000 members outside Tibet. Today, TWA is the second largest Tibetan NGO and the only women's NGO in our exile that advocates human rights for Tibetan women in Tibet and empowerment of Tibetan women in exile, particularly the new refugee women from Tibet.
With sincere regards
B.Tsering Yeshi
President
Tibetan Women's Association