The Australian Tibet Council has attended parliament, asking for support on the issue of the Dalai Lama’s succession. Tibet (and the Dali Lama, 90) want the Dali Lama to choose his successor, not the Chinese government.

Samdon Phuntsok holds a picture of the Dalai Lama while Tenzin Nyima looks on at the Australia Tibet Council’s (ATC) annual Tibet Lobby Day during a press conference in the Mural Hall of Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph by Mike Bowers.

The ATC urges the Australian Government to adopt a clear policy: only recognize a Dalai Lama chosen through Tibetan Buddhist practices and traditions, without Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interference.

In their meetings with federal parliamentarians on Monday delegates will highlight urgent concerns for Tibet’s future and global human rights.

Delegates will also press for an end to China’s repressive policies and transnational repression against Tibetans, including those living in Australia. The CCP continues to monitor, intimidate, and weaponize relatives in Tibet against exiled Tibetans in Australia, denying them true freedom.

The Australia Tibet Council’s (ATC) annual Tibet Lobby Day holding a press conference in the Mural Hall Photograph by Mike Bowers.