WASHINGTON DC: During his three-day visit to the capital city, President Dr. Lobsang Sangay met with many high-level United States’ administration officials. On the first day, he met with Samuel Brownback, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom (IRF). The IRF’s mission is to promote religious freedom as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy. Ambassador Brownback is one of the most effective and passionate voices calling for an immediate stop to religious persecution around the world.
President Sangay and Ambassador Brownback discussed many issues pertaining to lack of religious freedom in Tibet. The Ambassador has met with representatives of the Office of Tibet multiple times since assuming the Ambassador role in February 2018 and is committed to protecting the rights of Tibetan Buddhists to practice their faith freely.
President Sangay also met with Ivan Kanapathy, Director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, National Security Council (NSC) and Laura Stone, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Additionally, he met with Tom Vajda, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Security and Transnational Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and David Ranz, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau South and Central Asian Affairs. President Sangay raised strong concerns about China acting with impunity around the world and specifically in Tibet by enacting increasingly more restrictive policies in Tibetan areas. Many specific and urgent political issues facing the Tibetan people were also discussed.
To express gratitude for the funds provided and to advocate for continued assistance, President Sangay met with representatives of three additional bureaus of the State Department: Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). DRL leads the U.S. efforts to promote democracy, protect human rights and international religious freedom, and advance labor rights around the world. PRM provides aid and sustainable solutions for victims of conflict and stateless people globally and USAID leads international development efforts to reduce poverty and help people become self-reliant.
As documented in earlier reports on www.tibet.net, President Sangay met with many Congressional members, staffers, think tank representatives, and gave interviews and a public talk in D.C. He advocated passionately for the United States to stand by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people.
President Sangay will head to the Halifax International Security Forum on 16 November.
-Filed by Office of Tibet, DC